Won't You Be My Bad Boy?
by TrueBlue21
Summary: Haley James has a great boyfriend, great friends, and a great life. So why is she willing to throw that away by sneaking around town with Tree Hill's ultimate outsider, Nathan Scott? Like they say when the boyfriend is away, the girlfriend will play.
1. Basketball, Parties, Lies

**A/N: Hey everyone! So this is a new story that I got off the top of my head and just fell in love with it! So it's a little different, but I'm excited about it!**

**And those of you wondering about Flying Without Wings, the reason I'm not really updating a lot is because I don't really know where the story is going. Hopefully, I can get past this writers block and get back to updating frequently rather then every two months. Oh and if you have never read the story, I would really love it if you check it out. Now that's a different story or me, haha.**

**Anyway, the story is called Won't You Be My Bad Boy. There is a song called Bad Boy, Cascada sings it. It has to be one of the greatest songs in the world, and I highly recommend it. Now below is the summary for the story!**

**Hope you all enjoy and please review!!!!!**

**Summary:**

**Haley James: Smart, beautiful, popular. A high school's ideal student. She's co-captain of the cheerleading squad, head of the tutoring center, and she's dating Tree Hill Highs basketball king. Conner Jacobs.**

**Nathan Scott: Tall, dark, gorgeous, and dangerous. Every town has one, he's Tree Hills. Hardly attends class, rumored that he has slept with more than half of the women population in the small town. He can also be heard over a mile away with the only motorcycle in the town. When you hear the engine of the Harley, you know that it's Nathan Scott.**

**They were opposites, fire and ice, black and white, cat and mouse.**

**And yet, when the lights are turned off, doors are locked and they're alone. Those two can't keep their hands off one another.**

"Let's go Ravens!" I screamed as loud as I could.

The score was 53 to 49. The Tree Hill Ravens were down by four points, two baskets away from either tying or winning the game with a three pointer. And somehow no one seemed to be nervous, because we all knew that if #21 had the ball the Ravens would win and remain un-defeated.

#21: Conner Jacobs. Captain of the Ravens. He's every father's dream son, and every college's dream player. And he's my boyfriend.

Conner and I have been together since the middle of junior year, so about a year an a half. It was the week before the winter formal, and Conner had made a poster that read in big red paint: "Haley Dance? - Conner". It covered up the scoreboard in the gym. Basketball and cheerleading practice is held at the at the same time after school, so when my two best friends, Brooke Davis and Peyton Sawyer, and I walked into the gym it was the first thing you saw. I stared at it for a couple of seconds, trying to register what the sign said. I then looked down to see Conner standing underneath the poster holding a bouquet of flowers. I walked over to him; trying so hard not to let tears fall- I am a very emotional person.

When I reached him, he got down on one knee and held out the flowers to me and said, "Haley James, will you go to Winter Formal with me?"

I think you all know what my answer was.

Ever since, we have been known as the perfect couple. And I sometimes think the same thing. We rarely fight, and when we do it last for a about five minutes. He brings me flowers, or chocolate about once or twice a week. Why? I have no idea. He's just like that, the perfect boyfriend. And yet, we both have never said those three little words that mean so much.

"Tutor girl!" Brookes voice screamed next to me. I turned my head to see her and Peyton staring at me with curious looks on their faces.

Both girls were outstandingly beautiful. Brooke with her shoulder dark brown hair, hazel eyes that could read right through you- trust me she has done it before. She's known for her peppy attitude and sexual mind.

Then there's Peyton. Tall, skinny, blonde, dark and broody. Loves the color back, has a really weird taste in music, and she has a great talent for drawing. Dark, and very confusing drawing that is.

Then of course there was Lucas Roe, my best friend since 3rd grade. Him and I fit like peanut butter and jelly. It has been just him and his mom for a long time, and when I met them I thought it would be fitting for me to join there family. Karen had Lucas at a very young age, just out of high school. The father? Ditched when he found out, coward right?

Anyway, somehow, we all just fit together. We all met in 7th grade, Lucas and I a team, Brooke and Peyton a team. Brooke instantly fell for Lucas, and thought it would help if she were to befriend me: the best friend.

But soon, her and I became best friends, along with Peyton and me. Lucas and Brooke didn't get together till sophomore year, if you were wondering.

In ninth grade, Jake Jakielski moved to our town from Savannah, North Carolina. He's cute, funny, smart, and he was perfect for Peyton. They clicked the moment they met. They started off friends, but after a year they finally gave into their feelings.

Another good friend of ours is Skillz Taylor- another player on the basketball team- and his girlfriend Bevin Mirskey. Bevin wasn't really the smartest tool in the shed, but we all loved the way she could light up a room. Her and Skillz were great together; I think they are the ones that could really make it.

"Haley!" I turned back to Brooke.

"What?"

"What the hell is going on through your pretty little head? That's like the tenth time you have spaced out on me today."

"I'm sorry I guess I just have a lot on my mind."

"Oh I get it," I turned my head back to face her, "you and Mr. Hotty are planning something big tonight." She said wiggling her eyebrows.

"No! Brooke would you please get your mind out of the gutter, for once."

"Sorry, looks like I won't be moving for a while. I'm serious Haley when are you and Conner finally going to seal the deal?" Brooke asked, while Peyton leaned in closer so she could also hear.

"Not until I know for sure how I feel about him."

"You two have been going out for sixteen months and you still don't know if you love him?" This time it was Peyton who spoke. Damn, looks like I won't be getting any help from her.

Since I was alone I ignored them both and returned back to the game only to see a pair of legs dangling in front of my face. I controlled myself from screaming but I did jump back, and I was able to see who it was that was hanging from the rim.

Conner.

He let go of the basket and returned to his feet with a smile on his face and his eyes on me, "hope you're not all cheered out. Because you and I have big plans tonight." With that, he turned his back and ran down the court to defend.

1:45 left in the game and the Ravens were still down by two.

I'm not a virgin. I lost it the summer before junior year. Who you ask? Does that matter? No it doesn't, just know that I'm not some religious person who promised that she wouldn't have sex until she was married.

I however did promise that I would only have sex if I were in love with the person, after I lost my virginity.

No one knows who it is, besides me. They all know that I lost it; they just don't know who and I would rather keep it that way.

But the reason I haven't slept with Conner is because I still don't know if I am in love with him. A year and a half together, I should be in love right? I just don't have that feeling like I thought you were supposed to have when you were in love. I don't know, but I know that Conner isn't going to wait forever.

"Looks like Conner is ready," I heard Brooke say next to me.

I rolled my eyes, not really looking forward to later part of this night.

I watched at the team played defense.

45 seconds left, and I became worried. I looked around the gym at all the fans faces, and they too were worried. Worried that #21 wouldn't get a chance to get his golden shot seeing as how the other team was just passing it around trying to run down the clock.

32 seconds left.

At that moment, it seemed like everyone in the gym all stood up in sync and all of us cheerleaders grabbed each other's hands.

Yes it was only the third game of the season, and there are still seven games to go after this. And a loss won't really mean anything, but somehow we all knew that it would be very disappointing if they couldn't come out as winners.

10 seconds.

Then all of a sudden, like lightning-blink and you'll miss- a hand had reached through a pass and the ball was suddenly bouncing down the court the other way. Towards us, towards the Ravens basket.

It was Lucas; he was dribbling the ball towards us. He was going to tie the game.

Everyone in the gym was going crazy. Even Coach Durham; a 56 year old man was jumping up and down

I was even jumping up and down; there wasn't a person who wasn't.

Then shock washed our faces, as we saw Lucas stop from going up for the lay up and pass back to someone from behind the three-point line.

3 seconds.

It was Conner, he was behind the three point line and he was either going to win or lose the game. The gym was silent, as he prepared to take his shot.

2 seconds.

My eyes were on Conner, but when I saw movement out of a complete still crowd I had to shift my focus to the movement.

And time stopped for me, as it always did when he was in my presence. Our eyes locked, blue hooked with brown, coldness in his and warm in mine. But I couldn't bring my eyes away from him. He was standing at the corner of the gym, where the exit to the parking lot was. He wasn't even watching the game, he was watching me.

Anybody who would have seen him would think he was a criminal, but yet everyone knew who he was. They were all afraid of him, including me. His appearance alone was intimidating. He wore baggy jeans, a white, black, or sometimes grey wife beater with a leather jacket over it.

One label to describe him at first glance: gang member. But he was far from a gang member. Just an out of place kid.

I was unfortunately torn away from his piercing gaze, when I felt a pair of arms wrap around me.

Conner was twirling me in the air. I looked around to see people everywhere jumping and screaming. I knew what happened instantly.

We had won the game. Conner had won the game. And I had missed it because of him.

I looked back towards the corner only to see nobody there.

Vanishing, it's what he always does.

It was now 9:47. The Ravens had won and now it was time for Conner to get what he deserved, right? Damn it! What the hell is wrong with me? Why can't I just say yes, and have sex with him? What the hell is holding me back?

Sensing my argument in my head, Conner brought his head back up from my neck. See why can't we just stick to kissing? It's so great, why the rush? Oh yeah because he's a guy and there always horny.

"What's wrong?" He asked, not moving out of his straddling position.

"Nothing, nothing. Just stuff on my mind I guess."

"Like what?" He asked while returning to my neck to leave kisses and most likely marks there.

"I don't know, stuff."

He could tell that I wasn't up for this, just like I seemed to be up for none of our make outs anymore. Seriously, what the hell is wrong with me?!

Any girl would be grateful to have a guy like Conner, why was I taking him for granted? He was sweet, nice, a great athlete, and not to mention hot! Oh yeah was he hot. He has dirty blonde hair that hangs in front of his eyes, but you could still see his intense grey eyes. He was built like no other and was an incredible kisser.

Conner took a long, and most defiantly annoyed, sigh. He then rolled off of me, and started putting his shoes back on.

"Well if were not going to have our night, then we might as well go to Ban's." Bane was another player on the team.

"Why? What's at Bane's?" I asked.

"A party."

I should have known. There was always a party. Even when they lost they would still party.

"Oh." I said quietly as I turned by back to him and also started to put my shoes back on.

I felt the bed shift and then felt Conner's chin on my shoulder, "I'm not mad."

I leaned my head against the side of his, "I know. I'm sorry."

"Don't be. When it's time, it's time. I won't push you."

I then turned to face him completely, "thank- you." I said softly as I kissed him on the lips. It was short, sweet, and loving(?) I didn't know.

We both finished getting ready and left for the party in his black mustang.

When we got there, the house was packed. There were kids already passed out in the front lawn. Now that's pathetic.

I normally didn't drink, but when I did I was able to hold my liquor better than that.

Bane lived sort of in the forest, so most of the parties were always at his house. He had no neighbors; can you guess why he would be the #1 house to throw a party?

We walked inside with Conner's arm draped around my shoulders.

He bumped fist with some guys, and I said hello to some girls. It was like they had been waiting for us.

"Haley!" I knew the voice immediately. Even with music blasting through the house, and people yelling or screaming I could still tell Brooke's voice from anyone's.

I turned my head, and saw her and Peyton walking towards me. I looked back at Conner who was talking to Bane now, and I kissed him on the cheek. He turned to me and smiled, "I'll see you later."

I walked over to my best friends and headed towards the living room/dancing room, and took a seat on the couch.

We talked for about ten minutes before Bevin came running over to us and pulled me off the couch, "okay I just put in a request to the D.J. and he's going to play our song!"

She dragged me to the middle of the dance floor, with Brooke and Peyton behind us.

_We can go to the tropics_

_Sip piña coladas_

_Shorty I could take you there_

_Or we can go to the slums_

_Where killas get hung_

_Shorty I could take you there_

_You know I could take ya (I could take ya...)_

_I could take ya (I could take ya...)_

Bevin, Brooke, Peyton, and myself all started flowing to the music. I loved to dance. We all danced around each other, singing along with the lyrics.

_As long you're wit me_

_Baby you'll be alright_

_I'm known in the ghetto_

_Girl just stay by my side_

_Or we can leave the slums go to paradise_

_Babe it's up to you,_

_It's whatever you like_

I felt a pair of hands rest on my hips, and looked up to see Conner standing behind me. I looked around and saw that Lucas, Jake, and Skillz had all joined their girlfriends.

_I know the bad men them where I stay_

_Police fly pursuit in a hurry_

_This is no gun play_

_Don't be scared in the West Indies_

_It's Jamaica, that's where I'm from_

_Might see something you're not used to_

_Welcome to the slums_

The dancing soon turned into grinding. My back was to Conner and we were doing slow moves, making sure it lasted.

I loved dancing with Conner; he knew what he was doing.

_We can go to the tropics_

_Sip piña coladas_

_Shorty I could take you there_

_Or we can go to the slums_

_Where killas get hung_

_Shorty I could take you there_

_You know I could take ya (I could take ya...)_

_I could take ya (I could take ya...)_

The song ended, and Conner and I slowly untangled ourselves.

I turned around to face him, "couldn't keep your hands away could you?"

He just smiled and bent down to my ear and whispered, "You have know idea what you do to me Haley James."

That gave me chills. Why the fuck couldn't I sleep with this guy?

I smiled back up at him, reached my head up and kissed him long and hard.

I broke away after a much needed breath, "I'm going to go to the bathroom."

"I'll be in the kitchen," he responded while leaning his head back down to give me another kiss.

"Okay." We both went the other way.

I knew Bane's house pretty well. Him and Conner have been friends a long time, so when they hang out it's usually here. So I knew where to go for the bathroom.

Except I hadn't thought that other people had to pee too. Shit! I looked up at the banister that surrounded the wall. People were leaning on it, looking down at the others. What the hell?

I went upstairs to the bathroom.

It was all the way at the end of the hallway, so it was pretty vacant. Which I was totally happy about.

I stayed in there for about five minutes, to make sure I wasn't sweating from the dancing. After I looked decent enough, I opened the door and started making my way back downstairs.

But I was instead grabbed by my arm, and yanked into a dark bedroom.

The door closed, and I was roughly pushed against it. I was about to scream until I felt somebody's lips crashing onto mine.

And the thought of screaming quickly erased from my mind. Because I knew these lips, oh how I knew these lips.

Hell, I knew his smell.

He was angry, that I could tell. Because when he was angry his kisses were urgent, wanting, needing. And I loved it.

I was growing impatient until I felt his tongue press against my lower lip, and I immediately opened my mouth. Finally!

His tongue flew into my mouth and he started his exploration. God he could leave me breathless. He then grabbed my hands and pinned them over my head.

He finally broke away from me, not to my pleasure what so ever. But I was human, I needed to breath.

He kept my hands above me and rested his forehead against mine.

"You really need to be careful when you do things like that," his dark husky voice said in a whisper. My knees went weak.

"Do what things?" I was confused.

"Dance like that. It took every will power in my body not to come over and just kiss you right there." Again knees weaker.

"Well If I had known you were watching I would have made it even more harder for you," I said peering up at him when his forehead left mine.

Those eyes could pierce through me, and I think they were doing it right now.

He dropped his hand from mine, and I let them fall to my side.

Then he lifted me up and I wrapped my legs and arms around him while meeting his lips with mine.

He then brought me over to the bed that was in the room, and we fell back onto it.

He then started lifting my shirt above my head, and soon we were both naked and doing what we both knew was forbidden.

I know what you're thinking right, I'm taken! I have this great boyfriend and I have a great life, what are you doing with this guy?! Well those are the same things that I asked myself when we first started sneaking around.

But for some reason, even when I tried, I couldn't bring myself away from him. I was in too deep, and I wasn't ready to pull myself out just yet.

And while I made love with a guy who I barely saw once a week, I understood why I couldn't have sex with my boyfriend.

Because I knew deep down that Conner Jacobs could never compare to Nathan Scott.

**A/N: Okay! There you go, hope you all like it! And if you did it would be awesome if you could review! They latterly make my day! And even if you didn't like it, I would really love it if you told me why! Again please REVIEW!!!!!!**


	2. Now Entering Elizabitch!

**Oh my gosh, you guys have no idea how excited I got when I saw that I had that many reviews for one chapter! Thank you all so much, and I'm really happy that you all like it! It seriously made my day! **

**Anyway, here's chapter two!**

**Oh and OTH yesterday was great! Loved the episode! I started crying when the dinner scene came on! Beautiful! And the wink that Nathan gave Haley when he was playing basketball with James Lucas! So HOT! Haha!**

"Even though Bella and Edward had so many reasons not to stay together because of the dangers and the risks, they still couldn't bring themselves not to say no. Their love was too strong to just turn away from…" Mrs. Baker went on.

I finished the book a couple of days ago, so I didn't really see the need to listen to her describe last nights homework.

So I read more than we were supposed to, and it did require me to stay home all day Saturday to finish it. I'm a nerd, okay! But that book was way too good! Sure I'm not really a vampire kind of girl and I hate anything that has horror in it, but the connection of Bella and Edward kept me hooked.

I was about to tear out a piece of paper and start tonight's English homework, when something behind me flew onto my desk.

Brooke.

I opened the note and read, _where were you this weekend_?

I wrote back, _I had a lot of hmwk. Sorry_.

I made sure Mrs. Baker wasn't paying attention before I tossed the note back to Brooke.

She didn't write back.

Another hour passed before the bell rang. I gathered my stuff to leave but when I turned around Brooke was right there,

"Hi, what's up?" I asked slinging my bag onto my shoulder.

She gave me a weird look before answering, "are you okay?"

I smiled, "yeah, why wouldn't I be?" We started walking out of the classroom.

"I don't know, you just were really distant this weekend. After you left the party on Friday in a hurry, we never heard from you."

Ah, yes the party. The best night I have had in a long time.

"Yeah, I know I'm sorry. I just didn't feel good and on Saturday I was still feeling sick, then on Sunday I was swamped with schoolwork I didn't have time to call you. Sorry." I was getting better every day at lying; it was just rolling off the tongue.

Brooke still looked worried but was back to her bubbly self in no time, "well now that you're feeling better you and P. Sawyer are so going shopping with me this Friday."

"Brooke we just went shopping last Friday. Do we have to go again?" We had reached my locker by this point.

Brooke was student body president, so it was pretty obvious who had arranged the lockers. Conner was on my right, Lucas was on my left, Brooke, Peyton, Jake were on the other side of the hallway. Bevin and Skillz were just a couple of lockers down from my side of the hallway. It was perfect.

Perfect. I'm using that word a lot lately aren't I?

"Hey you," I heard a whisper say into my ear.

Disappointment. That's what filled my body when I realized who was next to me. I shouldn't be disappointed, I should be happy, excited, flushed. But I wasn't.

I turned my head towards him, "hey!" I kissed my boyfriend on the lips. A simple loving greeting, or at least I tried to make it that.

"Where were you this weekend? Your phone die or something?" Conner asked leaning against his locker.

"Oh, I didn't feel good and then I had a lot of homework. Sorry I didn't call you," I said trying to feel as guilty as I could.

"It's all right, I was just worried. Thought that maybe you had gotten kidnapped or something," he teased.

"Nope, no kidnapping. Just the flu."

"All right, ready to go to geo systems?"

I groaned, now that was not one of my favorite classes. Conner laughed as he took my bag from me and draped an arm over my shoulders.

Okay, the guy even carried my books! How great is that? So what the hell is wrong with me?

We reached Mr. Marks class and walked in. Conner and I took our usual seats, and I took out my binder.

I almost had a heart attack when I realized that my essay wasn't in my binder, and Conner noticed,

"What's wrong?"

"My essay isn't in here."

"Where do you remember putting it?"

I tried to re-trace my steps this morning. Got up, took a shower, ate breakfast, printed the essay out, ran downstairs, had a fight with Monica, then got into the car.

WAIT! I jumped up out of the chair and walked-no more like sprinted-to Mr. Mark's desk.

"What can I do you for Haley?"

"Umm Mr. Marks, I think I left my essay in the front seat of my car. Could I possibly go run and get it?"

"Sure, hurry back though!"

"Thank-you!"

I sprinted out of the classroom.

I had to walk a good five minutes just to get to the parking lot, my classroom was at the very back of the school. Tree Hill isn't a small school.

I walked over to my black Cadillac escalade- my mom is the richest women in Tree Hill.

I unlocked the door and opened the driver's door. I had to climb in just to reach over to the passenger seat, because my car was so big. And sure enough, it was lying right there. I let out a long relieved sigh- I would have killed myself if I had left that at home.

I grabbed it and climbed back out of the car. When I turned to head back into the school, I was yanked back and pushed up against my car. A pair of lips were now on mine, and I immediately wrapped my arms around his broad shoulders.

Nathan traced his tongue with my lips, begging for entrance-which I happily obliged. His tongue darted into my mouth and started outlining every part of my mouth. God I loved it when he kissed me.

The kiss intensified and Nathan ran his hands down behind my legs and lifted me up, my legs immediately going around his waist and my back still on the car.

Anyone could have walked by and saw us, but at that moment I really did not care. Because when Nathan was near me, everything in my mind went away and all thoughts were on him.

When breath became a necessity, he slowly broke away and rested his forehead on mine.

"Hi," I whispered after I had caught my breath.

He didn't say anything; instead he just bent down and kissed me again. This time it was slow, soft, and incredible.

When we broke away I asked, "what are you doing here?"

"Could ask you the same thing. Since when does little Ms. Perfect skip class?" He asked in a teasing voice.

There's that word again.

"I'm not, I just had to come and get this," I told him bringing my paper in front of his face.

We both stayed silent. We both just stared at one another, enjoying the moment.

"What class are you in?" He asked.

"Geo systems."

"And I'm guessing you wouldn't be up for skipping that would you?"

"You guessed right."

He then released me and I was back on my feet again, much to my displeasure.

He reached a hand out to my face and tucked a loose piece of my long, blonde, wavy hair behind my ear.

"Some day." He said sofly.

"Some day what?"

"Some day, your going to realize that this," he flicked his head towards the school, "isn't what you really want. And you're finally going to agree to come with me."

Maybe, maybe some day I might just get onto the back of his Harley and ride off with him. But that day would probably never come, and we both knew it.

He then turned his back and started walking towards his motorcycle. All I could do was stand there and watch him go.

We come from different worlds, I have a boyfriend, and this thing between us is just a phase.

That's what I always try and tell myself when I get an empty feeling in my heart when I watch him leave me. But I remember Conner, and push that feeling aside. For the time being anyway.

I turned the other way and headed back into the school, into my life, into my reality. Not before turning back around and watching my 'secret' drive out of the parking lot.

"Okay so I'm thinking that we do a basketball theme. What do you think?" Brooke asked us. We were currently at Karen's Café- Lucas's moms' café- and Brooke, Conner, Peyton, Jake and I were sitting at our regular table. A week had gone by in a hurry and it was Saturday, my favorite day of the week.

We were discussing Luke's surprise birthday party-well more like Brooke was. We were just nodding our heads going along with whatever she said.

"A basketball theme is a great idea B. Davis," Peyton said. We all knew- except Brooke of course- that her voice was very bored.

"Glad you think so Goldilocks! Oh and I have decided that you and tutor-girl are going to be in charge of the music. For some reason you two and Luke all listen to the same type of music- which is bad by the way."

Peyton scoffed, "oh really Brooke? And what kind of music do you listen to? Hannah Montana?"

We all snickered, "Hey! Hannah Montana is an amazing singer!" Brooke defended her idol.

"Right, okay. Haley?" I snapped my head up at Peyton, "why don't we show Brooke what bad music can do to a crowd."

I immediately got a smile on my face-I knew what my music partner in crime was thinking.

"Absolutely." Peyton and I grabbed one another's hand and made our way to the center of the café- there was more space there. Peyton walked over to the back of the counter and placed a small boom box on the top.

Peyton and I were waitresses here, so when it was just the two of us and it was closing time, her and I would go to the back, jam up the music and clean the dishes. So we had a couple of mixes lying around.

Peyton popped one in and one of our favorite songs came on.

_I want you to want me_

_I need you to need me_

_I'd love you to love me_

_And I'm begging you to beg me_

_I want you to want me_

_I need you to need me_

_And I'd love you to love me_

Peyton and I were dancing like crazy people, but we loved every minute of it. So did everyone else that was in the café, they were laughing and having a great time.

_I'll shine up my old brown shoes_

_I put on a brand new shirt_

_I get home early from work_

_If you say that you love me_

Dancing seriously gave me a sense of freedom, one of the many reasons I joined the cheer squad. It just let me forget about everything else in the world, just like a certain someone I might be sneaking around with.

When the last part of the song came on, Peyton and I sang along to it(more like sceamed) just like we always did,

_I want you to want me_

_I want you to want me_

_I want you to want me_

_And I want you to want me_

And the song ended with Peyton and I laughing and bowing at the applause we got. We both walked back to our booth,

"You two so planned that," Brooke said when we sat down.

"Now Brooke, Haley and I have no idea what you're talking about," Peyton said innocently and we all cracked up.

Conner brought his hand over my shoulder and pulled me closer to him, and spoke in my ear

"That song defianetly worked, I want you."

I blushed, not because of what he had said but how loud he had said it.

"Ew! Please keep it G rated kids. We are at a family restruant," Brooke said.

Everyone again started laughing again, except me. But the laughter was cut short when we all heard the sound of a very loud engine coming down the street. Nathan.

He came riding in to view and stopped across the street. My heart literally skipped beats.

Karen's Café was across from a small grocery store. Nathan got off his bike and walked inside of Buy-And-Go.

"God I hate that guy!" Conner said, breaking me out of my staring. "He thinks he and his gang own this town, it seriously makes me sick."

"Yeah, but he's hot!" Brooke said.

We all looked at her, my look more of a dagger but whatever-no one noticed.

"What?" She asked.

"You better make sure that never gets to Lucas, B. Davis. He will go and beat the living day lights out of the guy."

"You really think that Lucas could take him on?" I asked.

"Lucas could defiantly give up a strong fight, but I don't think he could hold off Nathan Scott," Peyton said.

We all silently agreed with her. The conversation about Lucas's party resumed, but my attention went back to the store across the street.

He was in there for about five minutes, but came back out outside holding a bag of something.

Sensing my eyes on him, he looked up. Right at me. No expression, no read in his eyes, just blank. Like a white piece of paper. But yet, I couldn't tear my eyes away from his. Like I always did, I shivered at his piercing gaze.

Conner noticing asked, "you cold babe?"

I turned my head away from the window and to my boyfriend, "no just the chills all of a sudden."

Conner buying the lie returned to his conversation with Jake, and I went back to the window.

He was already on his bike and starting the Harley. He never looked back at me.

After lunch at the café, I wasn't really up to getting a manicure with Brooke. I had already promised to go shopping with her yesterday; I was not going to give in again.

So I went home, not the best place to get away but I was too tired to go anywhere else.

When I walked into the house, I was greeted by silence.

Maybe, she's not home.

"Haley!?"

Damn it, spoke too soon.

I didn't reply, just walked out of the foyer and into the kitchen. I grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and plopped by myself down onto a stool, waiting for the wrath of Elizabeth (Beth) James. My mother.

I heard loud, angry footsteps coming down the stairs and there she appeared at the doorway of the kitchen.

Many say that I am an exact replica of my mother, but I say that looks can be deceiving.

You see, my mother and I don't get along. In fact, I think it's pretty certain that we dislike each other. Why? Because my mother is a cold, heartless, mind tricking, slut of a women. And thanks to her image as a whore/bitch, most parents don't want their daughters hanging out with me. They're afraid that I will do the same thing that my mom did to them in their high school days.

We both have long blonde hair. We have the same nose, the same figure, and same mouth, everything!

But there is one thing that people can't compare us to, and that is our eyes. My mother has big gorgeous blue eyes, while mine are chestnut brown. Just like my father's.

He died when I was only four, so I don't really remember him that well. But I do know that he died in a plane crash. I was kissing him good-bye for a week, the next thing I know I'm kissing him good-bye forever.

"Why the hell didn't you answer me when I called you?" Monica's voice shrilled at me.

"Oh gosh I'm sorry, just the last time I yelled at you form my room you gave me an hour lecture on how yelling like that could damage even more of my voice. Sorry I didn't get the memo that you could yell, but I couldn't."

"Next time, don't have me stop what I'm doing and make me have to come downstairs and make sure that a robber or murderer was in my house."

"Oh don't worry Monica, I'll be sure to do that."

"Why couldn't you be a good daughter like the one I had hoped for?"

"Sorry Monica, but you know that I came into this world to make your life a living hell."

Everyday. Everyday, it was like this.

Monica didn't say anything; instead she huffed and went back upstairs.

I smiled, "score one for Haley."

I finished off my bottle of water and went upstairs to my room. I locked the door behind me and brought out my guitar. I strummed a few chords and started singing,

"_It's gonna be Love_

_It's gonna be great _

_It's gonna be more then I can take_

_It's gonna be free_

_It's gonna be real_

_It's gonna change everything I feel _

_It's gonna be sad _

_It's gonna be true_

_It's gonna be me baby_

_It's gonna be you baby_

_It's gonna be...Its gonna be Love"_

**A/N: Hope you all liked the chapter! Anyway, this weekend expect one or two updates. My Colts were knocked out of the playoffs and writing will defiantly get my mind off of it, when they won't be playing the Patriots. Anyway, very depressed about that! Also I'm really excited my birthday is on Monday! Sixteen baby! Very excited, also because I won't have school. Martin Luther King, Jr. day, which I am very honored to have my birthday on the same day!**

**Anywho! Please leave a comment!**

**Oh and P.S. I wanted to put Lydia and Jimmy in here but I couldn't write them as the mean parents. So I created Monica! Don't you lover her?! Haha!**


	3. Movie Night Gone Wrong

**A/N: Hey everyone! Thank you all so much for the reviews! They were awesome! Like I said, I have nothing to do this weekend so expect updates!**

**Ok so I realized that last chapter I wrote two names for Haley's mom. My mistake sorry guys! I'm like kicking myself in the butt for that.**

**Anyway, Haley's moms name is Elizabeth (Beth) James. I had it at Monica, then decided to change it to Elizabeth because that's Haley's middle name (which will be a huge factor later!)**

**Sorry about that! And thanks to everyone who has wished me a happy birthday! I'm really excited!**

**Cheery07- I am completely in love with the Twilight series! Except I did not like ****Eclips****e, that book completely changed my perspective on Bella. The whole time I just wanted to punch her. Haha!**

**Bindy417: Yeah sorry about the confusion. Oh and can I just say, that ****More Than Anyone**** is my favorite story right now! Every day I look for a new update! I am seriously in love with that story!**

**Elosie09: You have no idea how much I hate the patriots! They are cheaters and don't even deserve to win the Super Bowl. (But Tom Brady is mega hot!) I'm rooting for the Giants now! **

**So here's chapter three! Read and Review please!!!!**

---------------------------------

"How do you watch this crap?" Peyton asked.

She, Brooke, and I were at my house hanging out in the basement. Brooke was flipping through the channels when she saw Hannah Montana and immediately pressed enter on the remote. Peyton and protested but Brooke didn't care.

"Hey! This show is so my life!" Brooke answered.

"So you're a normal high school student by day, and a pop star by night?" I asked. Brooke can be so dumb some times.

"Well no, but I mean Miley and I so look a like."

"No you don't!" Peyton yelled back at her.

"Shut up! You guys are just jealous!"

"Of what?" I asked. This conversation was going nowhere.

"That her and I are beautiful, popular, rock at dancing, and have guys pining over us."

"You are so pathetic B. Davis," Peyton said before getting up off the couch and heading over to the fridge to get another coke.

"Whatever, I've seen this episode already. Oh maybe General Hospital is on!"

Peyton groaned, while I squealed, That's one of the rare things that Brooke and I have in common, our soap opera General Hospital.

"Oh maybe it will be the one from Thursday when Jason saves everyone from the crazy bomb guy," I said.

"Oh that one was so good! Jason is way too hot for his own good."

"Hopefully not as hot as I am," a voice said from behind us.

All three of us turned our heads towards the stairs to see Luke, Jake, and Conner walking down.

It was Monday and we didn't have school that day because it was a teacher workday, but the guys still had practice - or at least they were supposed to.

"Hey!" Brooke said getting up to greet Lucas, "what are you guys doing here?" She asked after she had broken away from his lips.

"Well Whitey cancelled practice so we decided to head over here and hang out with you gorgeous ladies," Jake answered standing next to Peyton at the bar.

Conner was now next to me; I turned towards him and smiled at him. He didn't smile back. I gave him a questioning look, but he just shook his head. I knew he would tell me later, when we were alone.

"Well we were just going to watch General Hospital, but now that you guys are here we can do something else," I said.

"Like what?" Brooke asked.

"Well I don't know about you guys," Jake said, "but I really want to see that new horror movie that just came out."

Brooke groaned, "why? I hate scary movies."

"Don't worry pretty girl, I'll make sure nothing bad happens to you," Lucas said wrapping his arms around her waist. Those two are perfect together.

"Well I'm in," Peyton announced setting her drink on the counter before grabbing Jake's hand and heading up the stairs.

I turned towards Conner who still had a lost look on his face, and I touched his arm getting his attention.

"You up for it?" I asked him.

"Yeah, lets go." He climbed up and held a hand out for me. I grabbed it and he hauled me up. To the movies we go!

------------------------------------

"Six tickets for **Don't Turn Around** please?" Jake asked through the little mike. Tree Hill's movie theatre was nothing to brag about. There were only five theatres, one was used for the big movies that come out, three of them are medium sized, and the last one has about twenty seats. That one is used for the really bad movies.

"That's going to be twenty one dollars and sixty cents," the middle aged woman said. We all split up the money and paid the woman, she gave us our tickets and we went into the building.

"I'm craving popcorn with a lot if butter, whose with me?" Peyton said.

"I so am," I answered.

"Ugh, how on earth can you guys eat that stuff? It's loaded with carbs." Brooke complained from under Lucas's arm. Those two couldn't be together without touching each other.

"Yeah well I guess were just going to get fat, right Hays?" Peyton asked wrapping an arm around me.

I then wrapped my arm around her, "oh yeah!" Most of us laughed, Brooke and Conner were the only ones who didn't.

"Hey why don't you guys go and get seats, Conner and I will get the food," I suggested. Everyone nodded and the four headed towards the theatre.

Conner and I got in line at the food stand. I turned to him, "okay. What on earth is going on with you?"

Conner turned his head towards me with a curious look, "what are you talking about?"

"Conner, you haven't spoken more than five words today! By now you would have chatted all of our heads off! Something is bothering you and I want to know what."

He sighed, "I guess I'm just upset with what happened last night."

"What do you mean?"

"Whitey talked to me when I first got to the gym. He told me that four guys from the team got expelled from the school because they were caught doing drugs. They got arrested last night."

"Oh my god. Who was it?"

"Mack, Cam, Drew, and Bane."

Now I got it. Bane was one of Conner's really good friends. And he had gotten caught doing drugs, and if there was one thing Conner hated was people who wasted their life on that stuff.

Conner's mom, Anne Jacobs, died when Conner was ten because of her addiction to cocaine. He saw her snort the drug, and little did they know that, that would be the last time he saw her alive. Can you imagine, the last image of your mom alive she's snorting up drugs.

And Conner made a promise that he would never try the stuff, and he would never hang out with people who did. And Conner was so disappointed to find out that his best friend had done the stuff.

"Conner I'm so sorry," I said hugging him. I was happy to have him hug me back. I knew that he would be okay just with that hug. Conner had a tendency to keep things hidden and would become very distant. But having his arms around me, reassured me that he would be okay.

We ordered our food and headed into the theatre, only to get stopped short when a voice called behind us,

"well, well. If it isn't Tree Hill's perfect little couple. Mr. and Mrs. Brady." I gulped, why now? Why did he have to show up now?

We both turned around to see Nathan and some if his 'followers' behind him smiling.

"What the hell do you want Scott?" Conner snapped out. Nathan Conner bad!

"I just wanted to say sorry about your friend, Jacobs. I never wanted him to get caught, I guess when you buy four bags of the stuff just for yourself you can get pretty high and dumb. The guy didn't even have a brain to go inside, out of view from the fucking cops."

Conner froze next to me, and I my stomach dropped at Nathan's words. I knew that Nathan, didn't sell the drugs to Bane. Nathan almost hates the stuff just as much as Conner does, but he didn't know that, only I did. I turned towards my boyfriend - Conner - and pulled on his arm.

"Conner lets just go, the movie is going to start soon." Conner would have loved to kick the shit out of Nathan, but I knew that he would never be able to take on Nathan and his buddies without any help.

"Stay the hell away from me Scott." Conner said before turning around and grabbing my hand. Before he completely turned me around, my eyes hooked with Nathan's. He was smiling, not with his mouth, but with his eyes. And they were at me.

------------------------------------------

"What the heck took you guys so long?" Brooke asked when we came down the aisle. They were more to the back - the theatre was packed - probably because we had gotten there a little too late.

"Sorry, long line." Conner said. Down the line it was Jake, Peyton, Lucas, Brooke, me, then Conner.

Damn it Nathan! He was finally getting into a good mood, then you had to come over and ruin it.

"Well you're lucky, you missed the whole pre- previews," Luke said. I handed everyone their food/drink then turned to Conner. He still had a pissed look on his face. I need to cheer him up.

"Hey," I whispered into his ear, "scary movies really aren't my strong point. I defiantly think that I'm going to have to be distracted so I don't scream everyone's ear off."

He smirked. YES! Conner closed the space between us. Okay, okay I admit Conner wasn't as good at kissing as Nathan was. Hell he didn't even come close, but I still liked Conner's kisses. Sweet, soft, not forceful, and loving.

He broke away, "thank you."

I titled my head, "for what?"

"For getting my mind off of things." He then returned to my lips, this time a little more needing. The previews went by in a flash - thanks to the distraction - before we were interrupted, again.

"Don't make me call security on you, don't want you to have to go to jail for sexually assaulting a girl now Jacobs."

Conner broke away immediately when he heard Nathan's voice, and turned towards the screen. Ignoring him.

I risked a quick glance at Nathan, his eyes were fully on me.

He was sitting behind Conner, which probably wasn't a good thing. We got through ten minutes of the movie - the non-scary part - before Nathan started kicking Conner's seat.

We all had noticed, but Conner tried very hard to ignore him. It didn't last long.

Conner spun around in his chair after another kick by Nathan, "hey asshole, quit it."

Nathan laughed, "what are you gonna do? Slap me?"

Conner turned back around, fuming.

I put my hand on his arm, squeezing it. "Ignore him, he's just trying to rile you up."

He nodded but kept his eyes on the screen. I turned my head towards Brooke when I felt her elbow hit mine,

"is he okay?" Brooke asked.

I shrugged.

Brooke gave me a sympathetic look and turned towards the movie.

About fifteen minutes later, popcorn flew from behind us and landed in Conner's lap.

Conner did absolutely nothing, he didn't look at it, he didn't move, I don't even think he blinked. All he did was sit there, and watch the movie.

Popcorn kept flying, and Conner just let it. I shot a glance at Nathan, he was laughing with one of his buddies. Our eyes locked and I knew he was doing this on purpose. He was trying to show up my boyfriend, he wanted a fight with him so he could show me that he was the stronger guy.

I turned back around, reached into Conner's lap, and grabbed some of the popcorn. I ate them. Conner looked at me, the laughs of the other guys had stopped, and Conner smiled at me. He put an arm around me and pulled me into his body. I laid my head on his shoulder, and he kissed me on the top of my head.

I knew what I had did would not slide with Nathan, there was a reason he was doing this, but Conner was my boyfriend and I wasn't just going to let him get picked on. I felt a pair of cold, hard, emotionless, blue eyes on me. I tried so hard not to turn back and look at him.

About ten minutes later, popcorn had stopped coming, someone from behind us stood up.

The next thing any of us know, a drink is being poured all over Conner's lap. He jumped up from his seat, a yelling noise escaping from his throat. We all turned around to see Nathan also standing up, laughing his ass off, with a now empty cup in his hands.

"You son of a bitch!" Conner yelled at Nathan.

"I'm sorry, it was an accident. I guess I have sort of a clumsy side," Nathan said between laughs. Is it wrong for me to say that I found his extremely cute when he laughs?

"Your dead," Conner said before taking a step towards Nathan, who immediately stopped laughing.

Luckily for all of us, a security guard stepped in between the two.

"Do we have a problem here?" He asked.

"Yeah this guy," Nathan said pointing towards Conner, "can't forgive. I stood up, lost my balance, dropped my drink in his lap, told him it was an accident, and he wants to kick my ass."

"You ass! You planned that, he's been kicking my chair, throwing popcorn at me all night!" Conner explained.

The guard looked like he was bored, "look unless I saw him actually do it I can't do anything. But you sir, I'm gonna have to ask you to go and dry off."

Conner nodded, he was too tired to argue. He gave me a quick glance before leaving the theatre. The guard spoke to Nathan,

"if I hear you cause any more commotion I will personally finish the that guy's job for him." And then he left.

Nathan sat back down and started laughing with his friends.

I turned towards Brooke who asked me, "you want to get out of here?"

I nodded, Conner needed me. We all gathered our food/drinks and headed out the door. When we got out I told everyone that I had to go to the bathroom and that I would meet them out front.

But I didn't need to go to the bathroom; I had to talk to him.

I walked back into the theatre, and sat down next to him. His friends had all left,

"where'd your buddies go?"

"Sent them off, I knew you would be back."

"You're such an ass," I told him.

"You love it, that's why your here now."

"Whatever, I want you to apologize to Conner."

"Yeah right." We both knew that wouldn't happen.

"Just... why do you have to be such a dick to him Nathan?"

"Because it's fun."

"Nathan."

It was silent for a awhile, thinking that he wasn't going to answer I got up.

"Because it's not fair that he gets to be with you every waking moment, when all I get is five minutes a week." He said stopping me. I turned my head to him; he was staring at me, waiting for me to say something.

"I hate it too," I whispered. God how I hated it.

I walked back over to him, leaned down and kissed him. Nathan grabbed the front of my jeans and pulled me on top of him. I was straddling him, while his hands ran up and down my sides.

My friends and boyfriend were just outside, and here I was, making out with Nathan Scott. In the back of a movie theatre. I was so enjoying this.

We pulled apart, and rested our foreheads together, panting. God I loved the stuff he could do when we were kissing.

He tucked some of my loose hair behind my ear and whispered, "your friends will be looking for you soon. You should go."

I nodded, "I should go." I repeated but made no movement to go.

He kissed me again, making it slow, long, and incredible. It was a departing kiss; we knew it would probably be awhile when we see one another again.

And I hated it.

-------------------------------------------

Lucas and Jake decided to head to the river court, a basketball court that was pretty beat up. But Lucas had started playing at the court when he was little, and hadn't stopped going.

But Lucas and Jake were surprised to see somebody already playing there.

"Who is that?" Jake asked. They were still pretty far away, and they couldn't figure out who it was. But the person looked pretty damn good at basketball.

"I don't know but whoever it is can play ball." The two had stopped walking at watched the figure. Shot after shot it went through the basket.

Lucas and Jake finally reached the court, and Luke called out,

"hey!"

The figure turned around,

"no way," Jake murmured.

Nathan stood at the free throw line with the ball in his hands, "what do you want?"

"Umm, we were just coming here to play some ball. Dude you're incredible." Lucas commented.

"Yeah, so?"

"Nothing it's just, we never knew you could play."

"Yeah well there's a lot you don't know about me."

"I guess so," Lucas said quietly.

Nathan gave them an annoyed look, then turned around and started to walk away.

"Wait!" Lucas called out before jogging over to him.

"What?" Nathan bit out turning back to Lucas.

"Look, you probably heard what happened to some of the guys on the team. We need new players, players that are going to be able to step up and fill their shoes. You could defiantly do that."

"What the hell are you trying to say, Pucas?"

"Why don't you come and try out for the team. I know you could make it, you could maybe even start with what I saw today."

"Your boyfriend still on the team?" Nathan asked.

"Conner?"

"Yeah."

"Yeah he's still on the team."

Nathan passed the ball to Lucas, with a lot of force behind it, "no thanks. You ravens can go suck somebody else's dick."

Nathan walked away, and Lucas didn't stop him this time.

**A/N: All right there's chapter three! Hope you all enjoyed it! So there was sort of a little twist, Nathan can play basketball! It wouldn't be Nathan Scott if he didn't.**

**Anyway! Please, please review. They are the inspiration for me!**


	4. The New Girl, A Stalker?

**A/N: Hey guys! Thanks so much for the reviews!!!!! Loved them all! Now here's chapter 4!**

76-42. The Ravens had lost, badly. It was an away game, the first game after the expulsion of four players. Conner didn't play very well, but neither did any of the other guys. Our undefeated streak was over; too bad it had to come when we played the worst team in the district.

"Man, I so would not have come if I knew we would lose. The ride is like two hours long." Teresa, another cheerleader, said.

Brooke rolled her eyes, "sorry none of us are physics Teresa."

"Whatever," and with that great comeback she left the locker room.

"Well I don't know about you girls, but I am so looking forward to cheering up Lucas."

"You would B. Davis," Peyton said standing up off the bench.

"Oh come on, you can't not be thinking the same thing. Conner and Jake, all depressed, need to get their minds off of the lose. And what better way than to take pure advantage of them."

"Brooke! My boyfriends best friend is in jail, he just played the worst game of his life, and you want me to have my way with him?"

She was silent for a second, "okay geez if you put it that way."

I shook my head; only Brooke would try to make a situation like this sexual.

We walked out of the locker room and into the gym, our bags over our shoulders. We saw Bevin sitting on the stands and walked over to her.

"Hey Bev," Brooke said sitting down next to the skinny blonde, "whatcha doing?"

"Just waiting for Skillz. He's going to need some loving after this game."

"See! I'm not the only one." Brooke exclaimed. Bevin looked confused while Peyton and I laughed.

"Oh here come the guys," Bevin pointed out. We looked ever at the boy's locker room door and saw our guys walking out with a very glum look on their faces.

We waited for them to reach us, and we each went to our respected boyfriends.

"Hey you," I said quietly to Conner before putting my arms around his waist.

"Hey."

"Sorry bout the loss, guys," Peyton said next to Jake.

Out of all the guys, Conner looked the most depressed.

"Hey!" A booming voice yelled from the entrance of the gym. We turned our heads to see Whitey standing there, a very pissed expression on his face. "You girls going to get on the bus or walk home?"

We all started moving towards the old man, for a sixty-year-old guy he sure could scare the crap out of you.

-------------------------------------

"Talk to me," I begged. We were now on the bus heading back to Tree Hill. Conner and I were in the back with the rest of our friends. It had been 30 minutes of complete silence, and I couldn't take it anymore.

"What do you want me to say Haley?"

"What you're thinking!"

"You don't want to know what I'm thinking."

"Yes I do. Come on Conner, you used to tell me everything. There was a point in time when I wish you didn't tell me everything on your mind."

He smiled, which made me smiled. That's a good sign.

"I just," he paused for a moment, "I just wish I knew what he was going to do so I could have talked him out of it."

I looped my arm through is and slid down in the seat a little, "Conner, your not superman. You can't save everyone. Bane, your mom. You have to remember that. People you love are going to make mistakes, and there going to wish that they could take it back, and there going to hope that you're going to be there for them when it's all over." Okay so that last bit was more about me, but it totally worked. Conner bent down and kissed me.

"You're incredible. You know that?"

I snuggled closer to him, "I know."

I heard him laugh. I fell asleep after that, with his head resting on top of mine.

------------------------------------------------------

"So now that Bella and Alice are going to Italy to stop Edward from the..." Mrs. Baker stopped explaining when the door opened. I was too busy doing my homework to hear it.

"Mr. Scott, what are you doing here? I don't see you till seventh period."

My head snapped up when I heard his name. And sure enough Nathan was standing there in his usual jeans, wife beater, and leather jacket holding a piece of paper.

"I just couldn't wait to see you Mrs. Baker."

"Mhm, what are you doing here Nathan?"

"Schedule change, looks like you won't have to wait all day to see your favorite student," he said while handing her the small sheet of paper.

"It's not like I see you anyways Mr. Scott, you never come to class."

Nathan smiled, "well I'm here now."

"Yes you are. Now you can have a seat behind Ms. James over there."

Our eyes met, and his smile returned.

He walked to his new desk and plopped down on the chair. This was so not going to help me keep focused with him sitting behind me.

"All right, now I want you to get with a partner and make up five key points that has happened in the book. Be descriptive, add examples from the text, and make it colorful. Get to work."

"Hey I'll be back, I have to go to the bathroom," Brooke said while getting up.

"Okay. I'll start the assignment."

"You do that Tutor Girl," Brooke left to go to the bathroom.

I took out a clean piece of paper and started to think about the main things that have happened in the book. But my thinking was cut short, when someone sat down in Brooke's seat.

"Wanna be my partner?" Nathan asked.

I smiled softly and turned my head to him, "I'm already working with Brooke, sorry."

"So? Tell her you would rather work with me." I then felt a hand on my thigh and Nathan started massaging it. Oh boy!

"That would be mean. She's my best friend, I can't do that."

"Why not?" His hand then made it's way farther up my thigh.

"Because." I wouldn't let him be doing this, but we were in the back and everyone was too busy working on their project to notice us.

"What if I have Denny work with your friend? He would appreciate that."

"Nathan, Brooke is going to walk in here and see us and she won't just let it go. She'll figure it out."

"Who cares? Afraid your boyfriend will dump you?"

I pushed his hand away, "yes! I care about Conner. I don't want to hurt him."

Nathan faced the front now. He was mad. God why did guys have to be so sensitive?!

He then turned his head to me, "some day."

He then got up and went over to Denny (?)

I sighed, why did he always make me feel so guilty!?

"Hey partner! So what have we got so far?" Brooke said sitting down in her now empty chair.

We started on our project.

------------------------------------

"NO!!!!! Wrong, wrong, wrong!" Brooke yelled.

School was over and we were now at cheerleading, and Nazi Brooke was yelling at us once again. You think us being co- captains we would run the practice together, but that's not how it is.

"Why can't you guys just get it right? It's easy. Step to the left, cross legs, twirl, yell 'Ravens' and line up and kick your legs up."

"Brooke, it's been two hours already. Without a break. Can you blame us that were not doing too well right now?" Peyton said.

Brooke was quite for a moment, "fine. Five minutes."

Peyton and I walked over to the mad captain while everyone went to the bench for water.

"Brooke, you are being way to Nazi. Cool it," Peyton said.

"We only have three more weeks till the Sparkle Classic. Nowhere near begin ready, oh and also we still only have nine girls. We need ten!"

"Brooke we'll be fine! Just relax! You keep acting like this, you won't have any girls left." I tried to tell her.

"Whatever. Man I will so need a good make-out session with Broody tonight."

Peyton and I laughed, Brooke was completely serious. We turned towards the guys on the court. Whitey had posted signs for try-outs last this week. There were three guys that were trying out, two of them looked pretty good. The other was completely worth less, I felt bad for him.

Our break ended and we were back to work again. About ten minutes had passed before the gym doors opened and a girl in black spandex and a blue tank top (it really only seemed to cover her boobs) stood at the entrance. She walked over to us, more like flaunted over to us.

"Hi, I'm Rachel. I'm here for try-outs." She said when she reached Brooke, Peyton, and myself. She was holding out a hand and waiting for one us to shake it. Ten bucks says it won't be Brooke.

"Hi Rachel, I'm Peyton and this is Haley and Brooke. The co-captains." Myself owes me ten bucks!

"Hi. So when should I start?"

"Okay, hold on," Brooke said, "where did you hear that we were having try-outs? There are no signs up."

"I heard it through the grapevine. Are you not having any?"

"We are," I spoke up for the first time. "Tell us when to start the music." I started walking over to the boom box when her voice interrupted,

"Umm actually I have my own music Hannah."

I turned around, "it's Haley."

"Oh sorry, my bad."

If Brooke didn't like her before, she loathed her now. "Just do your routine and stop wasting my time." She yelled.

Rachel handed me the cd and I put it in. Chris Brown's Kiss Kiss boomed through the speakers.

_She want that lovey dovey (lovey dovey)_

_That kiss kiss (kiss kiss)_

_In her mind she fantasize bout gettin wit me_

_They hatin on me (hatin on me)_

_They wanna diss diss (kiss kiss)_

_Because she mine, and so fine_

_Thick as can be_

Rachel did some moves, very sexual moves. She was a good dancer, did more stripper dancing then cheer dancing. Brooke looked on disgust, Peyton had an amused expression on her face, and I was just trying to figure out where this girl came from.

Brooke walked over and pushed stop, "okay thank-you. We've seen enough."

"I wasn't done though," Rachel said.

"Oh really? I say you are. We'll call you."

"I would think so."

Rachel turned around and walked to the exit. The boys were now taking a water break, and no one missed the look and wink Rachel gave Lucas as she passed by him.

"Well I guess we found our new cheerleader," Peyton said.

Brooke turned to her that read 'I will kill that bitch' on her face, "are you psycho?"

"Brooke come on, she's the best dancer out of all the ones we have seen the past three weeks."

"Sawyer I don't know what the hell you were just watching, but the only squad that red-head in going to be on is the A.F.R.P.S"

"What is that?" I asked.

"America's Favorite Red-head Plastic Sluts," Brooke answered.

Peyton and I laughed, "Brooke I have to agree with Peyton, she is the best we've seen so far."

"Whatever," Brooke turned around to face the rest of the girls, "all right show's over! Back to positions!"

And with that, we were back in formation and being pushed around by Nazi Brooke.

---------------------------------------------------------

"Cheery, she was not!"

"Lucas, she was. Don't deny it. We all saw it." Brooke said. We were at the Cafe, eating dinner. The rest of practice, for the boys, and us had been hell. We seriously needed some food.

"Brooke, just let it go. What girl isn't hitting on Lucas everyday?"

Brooke whipped her head to Peyton, "thanks goldilocks, that makes me feel so much better!"

Peyton rolled her eyes and turned towards me, "come on Brooke. You know Lucas would never do anything to hurt you. Your his pretty girl," I said in a cute, high, voice hoping that would cheer up Brooke.

Lucas leaned over and put an arm over her, "exactly." Brooke turned her head to him, smiled, and kissed him.

I turned towards Conner, who had a very pissed expression on his face. "What's wrong?"

He didn't say anything; he just looked out the window. I followed his gaze, and my breath caught in my throat.

Nathan and three of his friends were walking down the street, laughing. It was pretty warm outside, so Nathan wasn't wearing his usual jacket. And man did it make it so much harder for me not stare at him, with his huge muscles bulging every time he moved his arm. Or how his abs just seemed to go right through the fabric of his wife beater. God he was way too hot for his own good.

The rest of them had realized what had caught our attention and also were focused on the four people outside. We watched them reach the door and walk inside of the cafe. Oh boy!

"Why the hell are we eating here, Nate?" His friends asked.

"Because it's the only place with food near by, and I'm starving. Denny get a table, I'll be right back."

Denny nodded and walked over to a table that was across the cafe from us. I watched as Nathan walked towards us, and felt Conner tense up next to me.

He looked at me, and smirked. He never took his eyes off me as he walked by us and into the men's room. I didn't think anyone noticed, until I felt Brooke kicked me under the table. I looked up to see her and Peyton looking at me strangely. Shit.

"So, you guys ready to get out of here?" I asked. We had finished our food about twenty minutes ago, but we had sat there and talked for a while.

"Yeah. I don't know about you guys, but I'm exhausted." Jake said.

We all stood up, Conner was on the outside so I waited for him to get out until I got up. As I got up out of the booth, someone ran into me causing me to fall forward. That is until a hand reached out to grab me and pull me against their chest. Sparks flew through my body when I felt his body against mine.

"Whoa, easy there," Nathan said as he steadied me.

"What the hell did you do Scott?" Conner asked walking over to us.

"Nothing, calm down Jacobs." Nathan replied as he let go of me.

Jake and Lucas also had walked backed to us leaving Brooke and Peyton near the door. Denny, and Nathan's friends also had made their way over. A fight was bound to break out now.

"Just get the hell away form my girlfriend," as he said this he grabbed my wrist and pulled me over to him. His touch didn't shoot out sparks, only pain.

Nathan stepped forward, his eyes darting to me for a second then back to Conner, "why don't you walk away Jacobs. You really don't want to embarrass yourself in front of your girlfriend."

I wasn't sure, but I think I saw a hint of sadness when he said the word girlfriend.

"Lucas?" A soft voice said from the counter. It was Karen.

"Look, this is my mom's cafe. It you want to fight, go outside. Not in here," Lucas said.

"Always got to do what mama says huh Pucas?" Nathan said. His friends laughed while Lucas rolled his eyes.

"Whatever, guys lets go." He said to Jake and Conner. Jake nodded; him and Lucas then turned around and headed towards Brooke and Peyton.

I looked up at Conner, "lets go."

Conner nodded without taking his eyes away from Nathan. I too looked at him, and his eyes were on mine in an instant. Noticing his focus was on me, Conner starting pulling me to the door.

All of us walked out of the cafe, and headed towards our cars.

"That was fun," Jake said after a moment of silence, making us all laugh.

--------------------------------------------

"Damn it! Lucas where are you?" I said aloud. I really had to find him, he had my book and I really wanted it back.

I just checked the cafe, Karen told me he was headed to Brooke's about an hour ago. Called Brooke, she was alone working on homework. I know, shocked me too.

"Okay If I were Lucas, where would I be?" I probably looked like a crazy person walking down the street talking to myself but I really needed that book.

I then looked across the street, over the river to the basketball court. Of course! I saw a figure playing basketball, and I kicked myself in the butt. That should have been the first place I looked.

It took me about ten minutes to get to the river court, but I was there. I got out of my car and made my way through the grass and to the court. But I was disappointed to find a raven-haired boy playing. Okay, that's not Lucas. But as I looked closely, I realized that the person was very good at basketball. Very good. His back was turned to me so I still couldn't make out a face, but the person did look familiar.

It wasn't until he turned his head that I realized it was Nathan. I smiled and made my way over to him.

He was really engrossed in playing, so he never heard me walking behind him. I jumped on his back after he had shot the ball.

"Hey!" I yelled as I jumped on him. He didn't even flinch.

"Hey," he responded as he held up my legs.

I wrapped my arms tighter around him, "did I scare you?"

"Nope."

"Are you serious, you weren't scared at all?"

"No."

I frowned, "but you didn't even hear me or see me."

"You think I need to see you or hear you to know that you're next to me?"

I blushed at his comment and held onto him even tighter.

"What are you doing here?" He asked me.

"Well I've been looking for Lucas all day, saw you from the cafe, thought you were him, drove over, only to find out that you weren't Lucas."

"I'm much better than Pucas though right?"

I smiled, "right. And will you please stop calling him that. He's one of my oldest friends."

"Maybe." He then let go of my legs and I slid down off of him.

He walked over to retrieve the ball.

"You're really good at basketball," I told him.

He smirked, "thanks." He took another shot, it swished.

"Seriously Nathan, you should try out for the Ravens."

"What is it with you people? Just because someone is good at something, why the hell do they have to go and tell everyone?"

Okay, I was confused. And he could tell.

"Your friend 'Lucas' stopped by and told me I should try out."

"Oh. Well why don't you?" I was pushing him, and I knew it.

He sighed, "there are reasons."

"Like what?"

"It doesn't matter."

"Fine." It was quite for a few seconds. Nathan walked over to me and put his hands on the sides of m face.

"I haven't kissed you since Monday. It's now Friday."

I smiled. He leaned down and our lips met. His tongue traced the bottom of my lip, begging for entrance. I ran my hand up and down his sweaty, hard chest as I granted him access. Our tongues battled as he lifted me up, my legs wrapped around his strong waist.

But unknown to both of us, there was someone watching from behind the trees.

**A/N: Hey everyone!!!!!! Hope you liked the chapter! Happy Martin Luther King, Jr day!!! Please read and review!!!!!!!!!**


	5. Bonds Formed, Enemies Made

**A/N: Hey everyone! Here's chapter 5!!!! Oh my gosh, OTH last night! So good! James Lafferty looked like a god last night! Oh man! Loved all the Naley interaction! Still haven't kissed yet, but I will be ready for it! Anyway, please read and review! **

"Yeah I think that would be a great idea..."

"Where the hell have you two been?!" An out-of-breath Brooke said from the door of Peyton's room.

"Here, Brooke. We've been here for about two hours."

Brooke was silent for a second, "oh. Well now that I've found you," she entered the room and jumped onto the bed, "we have a problem!"

"What now?" I asked her.

"The caterers for Luke's party, they cancelled!"

"What! Why?" Peyton asked.

"I don't know! They called me this morning and were like 'sorry kid, we were offered a better pay at some other party" she said trying her best to sound like some old fat guy, "and then he hung up!"

"Ouch," Peyton said.

"I know! I am so going to write a letter to his boss!"

I laughed, "okay Brooke, why don't we figure out what were going to do for food. Unless you want your boyfriends 18th birthday party to be food less."

She got a panicked look on her face, "oh my gosh! What if we don't find a caterer in time? Don't they have to have like a month notice or something?"

Brooke was now hyperventilating.

"Calm down B. Davis. We won't let Lucas starve," Peyton reassured her while putting her hand on her knee.

That seemed to help.

"Haley," I turned my head to Peyton, "you handle the food. I got the music."

"Wait," Brooke spoke, "have you decided who you're going to get?"

Peyton smiled, "I think we got a pretty good idea."

"And I think I have an idea for our caterer," I said.

Brooke's spirit was now lifted right back up.

----------------------------------------------

"Oh hey Haley! What are you doing here?"

"Hey Karen," I greeted her walking up to the counter she was standing behind. The Cafe was pretty dead; it always was on Mondays though. "I actually came here to ask you a favor."

Karen stopped drying the coffee mug and turned all of her attention to me, "what is it?"

"Well you know how were throwing a surprise party for Lucas?" She nodded, "well our original caterers called Brooke this morning and cancelled."

"Uh oh," Karen said.

"Yeah, and she's completely freaking out that we won't get one in time or they all will be booked."

"I'm sure you will find someone."

"Well that's just it," I paused for a second, "I think I already found one. That is unless she's too busy."

"Oh, who is it?"

"You," I said a little quieter.

She was shocked for a couple of moments, and I was sure she would say no. Sure he was her son, but Karen wasn't really the party kind of girl. Plus she had the cafe to run. I was about to say never mind when I felt her hand on top of mine.

"I would love to," she was smiling. Yes!

"Really? You wouldn't mind cooking and feeding a bunch of wild, crazy, immature teenagers?"

She laughed, "it's what I live for. Speaking of," her eyes traveling behind me to the door. I turned my head to see whom she was referring to. My heart sped up.

Nathan and Denny walked inside, laughing. He didn't notice me as he went to the booth in the far corner near the window. I turned my head back to Karen who was drying the dishes again.

"Nathan Scott, everyone's nightmare," she said.

I forced out a short laugh, "yeah."

"Oh no."

"What's wrong?"

"It's almost five and Talia isn't coming in today. I've been dreading this all day." Five was usually rush hour for the cafe, and one person couldn't handle everyone.

"I'm here, you want me to help?"

Karen looked at graciously, "oh Haley do you mind?"

"Of course not," I said walking over and behind the counter to stand next to her.

"Thank-you. I'm going to start on the food."

I watched her walk into the back and then pulled out an apron from one of the shelves. I tied it around my waist and ran my hands over it to straighten it out. I then grabbed the boom box and placed it on top of the counter. I turned it on and pressed play.

"_Kindly unspoken_

_You show your emotion_

_And silence speaks louder than words_

_It's lucky I'm clever_

_Cause if I didn't know better_

_I'd believe only that which I'd heard"_

Kate Voegele's _Kindly Unspoken_ sang quietly through the speakers. I started to hum to the lyrics as I picked up what Karen was doing.

"I don't even get an 'hello' anymore. What I do this time?" I looked up to meet the pair of blue eyes that have been haunting my dreams.

I smiled as I told him, "you didn't do anything."

"So it was your bastard of a boyfriend then?"

"No, he didn't do anything either."

"Then what's wrong?" Why the hell could he read me so well?

"Just family stuff."

"Like what?"

"How come you get mad when I ask you about your personal life and you tell me to mind my own damn business, but you can ask me about my personal life?"

"I never said you had to answer, I just asked."

We stayed silent for a second, "it's just my mom she's going through one of her stupid..."

"You know what," Nathan said standing up from the stool, "maybe it's a good thing that we don't tell each other our personal problems."

I was confused by that, "but you just asked..." I trailed off.

"I know what I asked, and I now I wish I hadn't."

I was hurt by that, very hurt. But I tired not to show it.

"You should get back to work," and with that he turned around, motioned to Denny that he was leaving, and walked out of the cafe.

I sighed, what was that about?

----------------------------------------

"I got them!" Peyton yelled from a few feet away. Brooke and I looked up from our table to look at her.

"Got who?" Brooke asked before taking a bite out of her apple.

"The Goo Goo Dolls!"

Brooke spit out her food, "what?!"

I leaned back in disgust, "Brooke! That's disgusting!" Peyton also had a grossed out look on her face.

"Are you serious P. Sawyer? Because if you're joking with me, I will pull out every little gold lock on your hair."

Peyton took a step back, "I'm serious. I got a hold of there manager, told them what a huge fan Lucas is, he said he would talk it over with the band. Called me last night, told me they would be there the night before the party!" Peyton explained.

"Oh P. Sawyer I could kiss you right now!" Brooke said.

"Please don't!" Peyton said taking a seat next to me on the bench.

"Well to top of that awesome news," I said turning towards Peyton then back to Brooke, "I got a caterer for the party."

Brooke squealed and clapped her hands, "yes, yes, yes! Who is it?"

"Karen."

Brooke's excitement was gone.

"Karen?"

"Yeah, is that bad?"

"No, no of course not," Brooke paused a second, "it's just I thought we agreed on getting a gourmet caterer. Like lobster, crab, steak, you know the fancy stuff."

"Brooke," Peyton said, "were feeding a bunch of teenagers. Kids who like fries, sodas, and hamburgers."

"Yeah, and Brooke that would be way too expensive. Karen agreed to do it for free," I informed her.

Her eyebrow quirked up, "really?"

I nodded, "well I guess we can do that." Brooke said more to herself than Peyton and I.

"So it's settled. Karen and The Goo Goo Dolls."

We all looked at one another. This was going to be a great party!

-------------------------------------

"Hey," a voice said in my ear.

I leaned back in Conner's body as he wrapped his arms around my waist.

"Hi. I haven't seen you all day, where have you been?"

"I had practice this morning."

"Oh. Well you want to walk me to trig?" I asked turning my head to see his face.

He looked down on me then kissed me. "Lead the way," he said once he broke away from me.

I looped my arm through his and we walked to my next class. I didn't even notice a pair of eyes follow me down the hallway.

-------------------------------------

"Your back," Lucas called out.

Nathan turned around only to give an annoyed look, "Yeah so are you."

"You mind if I shoot with you?" Lucas asked walking onto the rivercourt.

Nathan eyes him, "if I say yes will you go away?"

Lucas laughed, "no."

"Then what's the point?" Nathan turned back towards the basket and let the ball go. Swish.

"Do you ever miss?" Lucas asked taking a shot of his own. Also a swish.

"Rarely, you?"

Lucas shrugged, "rarely."

Nathan let out a small laugh as he took another shot.

Lucas watched him and decided to go for it, "you know were still looking for players."

Nathan sighed loud, "didn't you hear me the first time? I don't give a shit about your girly team. I don't care," he said the last part slowly.

"Yeah well you should care."

Nathan shot the ball but didn't go after it. He turned towards Lucas instead, "why's that?" Nathan hated this guy.

"Look we both know the reputation you have," Nathan looked like he was about to kill Lucas, "and we both know that you aren't doing too well in school. You're supposed to be in three of my classes. I haven't seen you there once."

"What the hell is your point Pucas?"

"My point is, that the way you're going right now. You have no hope of getting into a good college. But Nathan, of you play basketball you could get a full scholarship. You could go to a great school, and maybe even get a chance to play in the NBA."

Nathan was listening intently.

"I know that your life is none of my business. But the Ravens are. And I know for a fact that you could help us win. And I also know that if you work hard for the rest of the year, show the colleges that you are capable of getting good grades. I know that they would take you in a heartbeat."

"Maybe I don't want to play in the NBA. You ever think about that?"

"You do though Nathan. I can see it when you play. Sounds around you are drowned out, your mind only on the ball, the need to make every shot. I know because that's what I do when I play. And I know that I want to play ball in the big league's."

They were both silent for awhile until Nathan spoke, "I could never play for that team."

"Why?"

"People don't know me as the badass of the town, they know me as Dan Scott's son. The guy who lost the only chance that the Ravens had at a championship. He carried that team all the way until he walked out with five minutes left in the game because the old man pulled him out for a break. And you expect me to play in that gym, the same one my father played in. The father who abandoned my mom and me for some other women and her kid. You got another thing coming."

Lucas knew the story of Dan Scott, Whitey told them almost every day. About how the game can change a lot of people, and not for the better.

He sighed, "Nathan you're not your dad's son. Yes people might hold what he did against you, but don't you want to change that? Show everyone that your not another Scott who just brings everyone loss and heartbreak. Your dad was a great player, his stats show that. But Nathan, isn't there a small part inside of you that just wants to break those stats. Break every connection you have to Dan Scott?"

Nathan took in Lucas's words, "I can't play in front of those people."

"It will be hard, I won't lie to you. People are going to hate you at first, but you show them that your here to win. You might just change that."

Nathan looked away towards the basket, then back to Lucas.

"I have practice in about an hour. You can come with me and re-write history, or you can stay here and start planning for what you're going to buy for your trailer. Because that's what your future is right now Nathan, a trailer parked in the middle of nowhere."

Nathan smiled at his comment, "pass me the ball."

Lucas bent down and picked up the ball. He looked at Nathan and passed it to him.

Nathan dribbled the ball a little, put it between his legs a couple of times then drove to the basket.

He leaped up and slammed the ball down. It went through the net and landed on the ground. Nathan hung on the rim for a couple of more seconds.

Finally he dropped back down onto the ground and slowly turned to Lucas, "let's go."

Lucas smiled.

----------------------------------------

"Oh man do I love basketball practice," Brooke commented next to me.

I looked up to see what she was talking about only to roll my eyes. She was watching the boys run up and down the court, all sweaty and hot.

"Brooke control yourself. The only boy you should be eyeing is Lucas."

"Yeah well he's not here right now, speaking of where is my hot boyfriend anyway?"

Just as the words escaped her mouth, the gym doors opened and two figures walked in. Lucas and Nathan.

They were both wearing basketball shorts, only Lucas was wearing a blue practice jersey while Nathan wore a black sleeveless shirt.

"You ready?" Lucas asked his companion.

"Ready as I'll ever be."

Lucas laughed, "hey coach. Sorry were late."

Whitey looked from Lucas to Nathan, "whose your friend?"

"Umm Coach this is Nathan. Nathan this is Coach Whitey Durham. Nathan wants to try-out for the team."

"Really? You good at basketball Nathan?"

"He's great Coach, I've seen him play..." Lucas said.

"I was asking him, you can go join your teammates at suicides."

Lucas nodded and shot a quick look at Nathan before running off to join his team.

"You going to answer my question?" Whitey asked.

"Umm yeah I guess I'm good. I've been playing since I was ten."

"On a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being the best, how do you rate your game?"

Nathan gave him a confused look, he was also getting pretty annoyed at the old man, "I guess that's what you're going to have to decide. Your the coach right?"

Whitey smirked, "suicides."

Nathan smirked and ran to the running players.

Okay, I was confused. What the heck was he doing here?

"Is that Nathan Scott?" Peyton asked sitting down on my other side.

"It sure is, in all of his yummiest." Teresa said from behind us.

We watched the guys for a couple more seconds until Brooke brought us out of our daydream, "okay girls we have work to do! Line up for warm-ups!"

I had to tie my shoe so I was the last one left in the stands. When I stood up I heard a voice behind me,

"so Hannah how'd you do it?"

I turned around to look at Rachel, "excuse me?"

"How'd you do it, I wanna know your secret."

"What secret?"

"Oh come on, don't play with me. I saw you the other day with your boyfriend."

I was now really confused, "Rachel what are you talking about?"

"Haley! Rachel! Let's go!" Brooke called out.

I turned back to Rachel, "but then again, I can see why you would be confused." Rachel said. "Having two boyfriends and all," she finished with a coy smile on her face.

I stood there speechless, "don't worry Hannah your secret is safe with me. That is if you tell me your secret on how you get Nathan Scott to kiss you like that." Rachel walked past me, "you coming Hannah?"

Oh no!

**A/n: Okay so there's chapter 5! Hope you liked it! Tell me how you like the Lucas/Nathan interaction, those two are going to become very close in this story. Almost like brothers, haha! Anyway, don't worry there will still be lots of secret Naley scenes. Just with some twists.**


	6. Please Believe In Me

**A/N: So I was going to have this up yesterday, but I**

**have been sick since Friday and still feel horrible**

**but I wanted to get this one out because it might not**

**be till Friday or Saturday till the nest update. **

**Sorry guys! Anyway, enjoy chapter six!**

**Oh and also, sorry if there are a lot of grammatical errors. I did this while like half asleep.**

"Coach, you can't be serious?" Conner asked.

"I am, he's a great player."

"In what way? He made a couple of lucky shots. A

crippled guy could have made those shots."

"Conner, what does it say on your jersey?" Conner

threw Whitey a confused look, "the C on your jersey.

What does that C mean?"

"Coach don't try your reverse psychology on me..."

"It means captain. A leader, someone who controls

others, influences them. Four of your teammates

proved that they weren't leaders, and now you have to

suffer for that. The team has to suffer from them. Your team needs you now more than ever, and it's time for you to step up."

Conner was silent, "Coach, he won't be good for the

team. You do know who he is right?"

Whitey sighed, "yes Conner, I know exactly who Nathan

Scott is. But sometimes, people deserve to have

second chances. And in this case, Nathan deserves a

chance. He's a great ball player, and he can help us

win."

"Your going to regret this coach, once you see how he

really is."

Conner turned around and was about to head out the

door until Whitey stopped him, "you know what a

captain also does Conner? He puts his personal

problems aside and does the right thing."

Conner nodded and walked through the door without a

word. Whitey sighed.

-------------------------------------------

"This is a nightmare," Conner said next to me.

I shut my locker and turned to him, "Conner he's good.

Very good, and he can help you guys. A lot."

Conner grabbed my bag from me and we headed for my

Trig class, "I know he is. I won't deny that, but

he's an ass Haley. You know that. I just don't think

he will help us."

"You might not think that, but I bet everyone on the

team thinks otherwise."

He looked down on me, "he pulls any funny business and

I'll kick his ass."

I laughed and playfully punched him in the stomach,

"oh I know you will."

He bent down and pressed his lips down on my forehead,

"you think it's hot."

I laughed and pulled him closer to me as we walked

down the hallway.

---------------------------------

"Hey man."

Nathan turned his head to see Lucas standing next to

his locker, "hey."

"So Whitey wants to talk to you, now."

"About what?" Nathan asked closing his locker.

Lucas shrugged, "your guess is as good as mine. Good

luck man," he said the last part slapping him on the

back and walking away.

Nathan turned his head around to watch him walk away

only for his eyes to go to a kissing couple. Haley and

Conner.

Nathan watched as Conner tenderly kissed Haley and a

wave of complete anger swept through him.

He tore his eyes away from the couple and headed

towards whitey's office.

_Knock Knock_

"Come in," Whitey yelled.

Nathan walked in and shut the door behind him, "you

wanted to see me."

"Yes, sit down son." Nathan sat down in the chair

opposite of Whitey, "Nathan you did very well at

try-outs yesterday."

"I know," Nathan commented. He didn't need an old man

telling him how good he was.

Whitey smirked, "and it's obvious that you are capable

of playing at a very high level. You know how to

shoot, to get out of double teams, and you also aren't

one of those kids who hog the ball. You're a team

player, and those are the guys that I'm looking for."

"So let me guess, you want me to join your stupid

team?"

"I know for a fact that you would fit right in."

Whitey said.

Nathan laughed, "you're kidding me right? You

actually think I would ever play for you? For this

shit ass town? You really are crazy, crazier than

I thought you were." Nathan stood up and headed

towards the door.

"Lucas told me the reason why you don't want to play

for the team Nathan," Nathan stopped walking but

didn't turn around, "and I can understand why you

wouldn't want to play. But it was over eighteen years

ago, son. People don't care what happened in the

past, because they know that we can do it this year."

Nathan turned around, "you don't get it do you old

man? People always remember, why do think they all

hate me? Because they know who I am, they know who my

father is. Because of those people, I never could

have a normal life. I always got stuck with my

mom when I was little because no parent wanted their

child hanging out with Dan Scott's bastard of a son.

Because of those people I was pushed to the person I

am today. And you expect me to help win a

championship for them?"

Whitey was silent, stunned, and guilty.

"All you people do is think about yourselves and

basketball. It's pathetic. You're pathetic, your

team is pathetic." And with that, Nathan turned

around and walked out of the office. This time Whitey

didn't stop him.

------------------------------------

"Hey! Nathan!" A voice shouted from the hallway.

"Damn it, what now?" Nathan muttered to himself. He

turned around to see Lucas walking towards him.

"Hey so what did Whitey want?" He asked.

"He wants to me join the team."

"That's great, you're going to right?"

"And play for this fucking town for these bastards?

In your dreams," he said turning around. Lucas

followed him.

"Wait but I thought you wanted to try-out. Yesterday

you said..."

Nathan interrupted, "I was bored Pucas. I wanted to do

something, and showing up all your asses sounded fun."

"So everything I said yesterday, what you said. It was all for nothing."

"Pretty much," Nathan stopped walking once he reached

the door of the school and turned to Lucas, "but you

know Pucas if basketball doesn't work out for you.

You could make hallmark cards, your a very

inspirational speaker." Nathan leaned back against

the door opening it, "catchya later Pucas." Nathan

then turned on the door and headed towards his Harley.

Lucas watched him go.

-------------------------------------

"Hey you!" I looked up from my books on my bed to my

door to see Lucas standing there.

I smiled up at him "hey Luke. To what do I owe this

surprise visit?" I watched him walk over to my bed

and sit down.

"I can't stop by and see my best friend?" He asked

innocently.

"Not unless you want something."

He laughed and then sighed afterwards. I crooked my

head to the side and gave him a questioning look.

"What's going on?"

"I guess I'm feeling like I just got punched in the stomach a hundred times."

"What do you mean?"

"You know Nathan Scott right?"

I nodded, of course I knew who he was.

"Yeah well I tried to help him, and he just proves

once more that he really is a jackass."

"Lucas, what are you talking about?" I was seriously

confused.

"I saw him at the rivercourt playing ball, and he was

good. Very good. I thought I persuaded him to try

out for the team, but in the end he was just playing

everyone. I should have known, I mean he is Nathan

Scott after all. Nicknamed the disappointment for a

reason."

"Lucas you can't help everyone, you know that."

"I just thought I could get though to him."

Looking at Lucas right now, I knew that Nathan messing

with him hurt him a lot. Lucas was always trying to

help and befriend people. Even the ones like

Nathan Scott.

---------------------------------------------

"You still talking to me?" I asked.

Nathan turned around and smirked, "why wouldn't I be?"

"I don't know," I started walking towards him, "I

haven't seen you in a couple of days and the last time

I did see you, you seemed a little weird."

"I've had a lot on my mind," he said before turning

back around and shooting the ball.

"Can I ask you something?" I was standing next to him

now but my body was faced towards the basket.

"You can ask, but I might not answer."

"Okay. What I don't understand is that you spend so

much time here playing basketball and then you spend

so much time telling everyone you don't care about the

game. Why is that?"

I turned my head to see him close his eyes and take a

long sigh, "Hales I hear you or your friend talk to me

about this one more time I swear..."

"Nathan! You could have a future! You could go to

college! But the only way you can do that is if you

go after your dream."

"How the hell would you know what my dream is?" He

was yelling now.

"Maybe I don't, but Nathan I know that you love this

game. And I know that you want more in life than what

you have now."

Nathan just shook his head, "you people are crazy."

"Will you stop calling us you people! Why are we so

different from you Nathan, huh? What makes us so

different?"

"Oh I don't know the money, the family, the

social status, everything! We come from different

worlds Hales, why don't you understand that?"

"Because we don't Nathan. We both have family

problems, I don't live off of my mother's money I earn

all of it by working! And I don't give a crap about

that social stuff. I like you, that's all that

matters."

He looked at me for a couple of seconds before

speaking, "for eighteen years I have taken care of

myself while my mother drank her ass off. Everyone in

this town hates me because of the person who fathered

me. They look at me like I'm scum Haley, I can't walk

down the street without getting glances or looks."

He moved forward so he was right in front of me, and he

spoke quietly. "My whole life I have heard what a

screw up I am from people who don't even know me. My

whole life I have had to live in my father's shadow.

My whole life no one has believed in me."

I put my hands on his cheeks and kissed him. It was

soft and slow. He wrapped his arms around my waist

and brought me closer.

After a couple of seconds we broke apart, our arms

still around each other. I looked up at him and

started to caress his cheek,

"I believe in you."

--------------------------------

"Coach?" Whitey looked up from his playbook on his

desk to the door.

"Now what could you possible want? Last time you were

in here you made it pretty clear that you wanted

nothing to do me."

Nathan guiltily half smiled, "can I sit down?"

"Close the door first." Nathan closed it then sat

down in the chair.

"First I just wanted to apologize for what I said

earlier, I was out of line."

"Yes, yes you were. But it's understandable."

Nathan nodded, "and second. I know this is a lot to

ask and I will understand if you say no but I was sort

of hoping I could take you up on that offer."

Whitey was quite for awhile, "if it was anyone else I

would be laughing my ass off right now. But because I

know you have potential I'm going to give you a second

chance."

Nathan nodded, "thank-you."

"However, I do have a few demands that you will

follow. One: you will attend all of your classes.

Two: your grades must rise by the end of the quarter.

And three: you and your captain get into a fight on

or off the basketball court you will be kicked off.

Do we have an understanding?"

Nathan nodded, "yes sir."

Whitey smiled, "good. Practice today at 5. Don't be

late."

Nathan again nodded before getting up. He was about

to reach for the doorknob when the old man stopped

him,

"if you don't mid me asking. What changed you mind?"

Nathan smirked for a second before turning around to

meet the eyes of Whitey,

"I guess I just realized that I have someone who

believes in me."

**A/N: Hope you liked the update! Don't forget to**

**review! They will really brighten me up while I'm**

**sick ;) Haha!**

**P.S. Who else is super excited for Lost to come back**

**on this week? Ahh! I am so excited! But not as**

**excited as the new episode of OTH! This one is gonna**

**be a jaw dropper! Haha!**


	7. Sneaking At The Club

**A/N: I am SO Sorry you guys! Words don't even describe how sorry I am! Life has been so hectic! School, soccer, friends problems! Oh my goodness! Haha, anyway hope you all will forgive me! This chapter isn't too great. Well I take that back, the middle and the end were really fun to write. Hopefully you agree!**

**And is anyone else like super excited that the Writer's Strike is over? I saw that, and I literlly jumped up and down! More OTH this season! And it's only like a month between the last episodes and the new ones that we will have to wait!**

**Okay, enjoy the chapter! And please review! It'll make me really happy!**

"Pass the ball Conner!" Whitey yelled at his star player.

It was the first practice with Nathan playing, and it wasn't going too well. Conner refused to pass the ball, to anyone. But especially to Nathan.

"Dude I'm open, pass the ball!" Nathan called. He was running up and down the side of the court, trying to get away from Jake who was guarding him.

"Conner pass it!" Lucas yelled out. He too was getting annoyed by his teammates selfishness. It wasn't like Conner, at all.

The players stopped moving when they heard the piercing sound of their coaches whistle.

"What the hell is going on out here?!"

No one said anything, even the girls and I had stopped what we were doing to see what was going on.

"What the hell are you thinking?" Whitey asked turning towards Conner.

He looked confused, "sorry coach?"

"Wipe that crap look off of your face and tell me why the hell you are playing like an idiot?"

"I'm just trying to improve my game, coach. That's it."

"No you're trying to impress your girl over there," he said pointing over to me, "and making this guy look like he has no idea how to play the game." He finished while pointing to Nathan.

Conner looked down at the floor, "I'm sorry coach. I just thought..."

"What did I tell you Conner? What did I tell you about personal problems over your team?"

"Not to do it."

Whitey nodded, "and yet...you did."

The old man let out a short breath, "Lucas get over here."

Lucas ran over to Conner and Whitey, "yeah coach?"

He turned back to Conner, "take it off Conner."

Conner looked up at Whitey, "sorry coach?"

"Take the 'C' off Conner. You don't deserve to wear it."

"But coach!"

"I don't want to hear it! Take it off."

Conner looked at Whitey with a disbelief look before looking down at his jersey. He slowly pulled his 'C' off and placed it in the waiting palm of his coach.

"Lucas," Whitey turned towards the blonde boy, "congratulations. You're the new captain of the Tree Hill Ravens."

Lucas took the 'C' from Whitey, "thank-you coach." He wasn't too happy about this.

"Practice is over, go home. Get out of my sight!"

We watched the players walk off into the boys locker room.

----------------------------------------------------------

"Brooke, what is this place?" I asked.

"I told you. It's called True Blue, I've heard it's a great club."

"And who exactly did you hear this from cheery?" Lucas asked next to her.

"Some people, oh come on guys it's not that bad."

I looked around, it really was bad. People were everywhere either drunk, stoned, or just really horny. I looked over at the dance floor and immediately regretted it. What they were doing was not dancing, it was more like dry humping. I was completely grossed out.

After practice, Brooke thought is would be a great idea to go out and cheer up. Since we didn't have school tomorrow it seemed like a good idea. Until we saw the place we would be going to.

I turned towards Conner who had the same look of disgust on his face, "can we please leave?"

He smiled down at me and looped an arm around my waist, "i'll be fine. An hour tops."

"Fine. No longer," I said with a pointed finger. He laughed and we started walking where all the tables and booths were, the group following close behind. Luckily we were able to find a booth in the corner where no one really was.

"This place is great, guys!" Brooke said as she sat down.

"According to who Brooke?" Peyton asked.

"Yeah, I've been to some pretty crazy places. But they don't even come close to this place," Skillz said.

"You guys just need to lighten up, a little. Girls, would you like to accompany me to the dance floor?"

Peyton, Bevin and I all looked at each other then turned back to Brooke, "no thanks!"

Brooke pouted, "come on! It's not that bad." She turned towards the dancing people and made a face, "okay we don't have to dance."

"I'm gonna go and get some drinks," Jake said standing up, "what'd you guys want?"

We told him what we wanted and he headed off, "wait Jake I'll help you!" Conner yelled.

"Yeah me too," Skillz said before jumping up.

I watched the three disappear into the crowd and turned back to the table.

"Hey Broody why don't you go and help them," Brooke suggested.

Lucas looked at Brooke curiously, "there's only four drinks though I think they can handle it."

"No, I really think that you should go and help them. Four is always better than three."

Lucas looked at Brooke for another moment with confusion before standing up, "okay I'll be right back."

Brooke waited till he was out of earshot before whipping her head back to us, "okay now that he's gone, we need to talk."

"About what?" Peyton asked.

"Duh, bout his party. It is Saturday night, and we still have a lot to do."

"So why now, in a raunchy club, to talk about your boyfriends party?" I asked.

"That's not the point. Peyton how's the music coming along?"

Peyton nodded her head, "it's good. The band is coming in Saturday afternoon, going straight to Tric from the airport. I was able to get a driver and limo when their here."

"Good, good. Haley, how's the food?" Brooke asked her head turning towards me once she made sure Lucas and the guys weren't coming.

"Good, Karen's been cooking all week. There's going to be plenty of leftovers."

"Great. This party has to be perfect."

"What kind of games are there going to be?" Bevin asked.

Brooke looked at her with eyebrows raised, "games?"

Bevin nodded, "yeah games. Come on Brooke you can't have a party without games. Duh."

Brooke turned to Peyton and I, "games? Games? We forgot games!" I think she was about to hyperventilate.

"Brooke, it's okay. We'll just think of games tomorrow."

"No you don't understand, everything has to be ready before Saturday! This is bad, this is so bad."

I reached across the table and put my hand on hers "okay. Stop, breathe, and relax. Peyton and I will figure out what we should do for the games tonight, and we'll meet at Tric tomorrow to set everything up. Everything is going to be okay."

"Here you girls are," Jake said. I brought my hand back as I turned to Conner and smiled up at him.

"Thanks," I said as he placed my drink in front of me and sat down.

"Where's Lucas?" Brooke asked craning her neck to see into the crowd.

"He was talking to someone at the bar when our drinks came," Jake said before taking a sip of his water.

"Who?" Brooke asked.

"Some girl," Conner informed her.

Peyton, Bevin, and I all looked at Brooke. Uh-oh.

"Some girl, huh?" She stood up from the booth, "I'll be right back." Brooke was fuming.

We all watched her walk off towards the bar, and what I could make out from here she called out, "hey bitch!"

I shook my head smiling as I turned towards Conner, "I'll be right back. Bathroom." I turned my head, "Peyton, Bevin? Bathroom?"

"No I'm good," Bevin said.

"I'll come," Peyton stood up and we made our way towards the restrooms.

The line was pretty long but we finally walked out in one piece. She and I were laughing as I was looking for my phone in my purse.

"Damn it, where is it?" I said aloud.

"Where's what?"

"My phone, I can't find it." We stopped walking by now as I searched my purse.

"Did you leave it in the car?"

I lifted my head up and tried to think if I did or not, "I might have actually. I'm gonna go check. You have the keys right?" We had decided that Peyton would be the designated driver tonight.

"Yep," she said reaching into her purse to get them.

"Tell them I'll be right back," I said before walking towards the exit. I heard Peyton call out, "be careful."

------------------------------------------

"Oh thank goodness," I breathed out when I saw my phone in the front seat. I grabbed it and put it into my purse before shutting the door and locking it back up.

I walked through the cars, noticing they all were pretty worn down and old. We weren't in Tree Hill but in some other town next to it. I've only been here a couple of times but never this deep in. It was a really weird name that I always seemed to forget.

I walked past a row of cars and looked to make sure no one was coming before crossing, only to stop dead in my tracks when I noticed something. A hurley was parked a little ways down, and it looked just like his.

I breathed in a set of air, convincing myself that it could be anyone. I finally started moving again.

I crossed the street and stepped up onto the sidewalk. We had to park pretty far away from the entrance since it was so packed. I walked passed an empty alleyway that separated the club and the building next to it. At least I thought it was empty.

"What's a small town girl like you, doing in place like this?" A voice said from behind me. I turned around and met Nathan's eyes in the dark. He was leaning against the building's wall with one leg up. He had a cigarette in his hand.

"Guess I just love the clubs that are known for it's drug busts, or shootings," I said walking towards him.

He smirked as he took a drag from his smoke.

"You know smoking is bad for you."

"So I've been told."

"It's also really unattractive, just so you know."

He looked at me hard before throwing the smoke on the ground and stepping on it. He looked back up at me before saying "come here."

I stepped into the alley and in front of him.

He looked me up and down smirking, "like what you see?" I asked teasingly. I was wearing a flowy black skirt with a white cami.

His smirk grew wider, "yeah I do." He said before crashing his lips down on mine. I wrapped my arms around his neck out of instinct. His lips were soft against mine, but still demanding. I let out a soft moan, which just made him seem more wanting. The kiss grew more and more, as our skin became hot on one another. Our lips moved in synch as I felt his fingers underneath my shirt. His touch sending shivers throughout my body. His tongue traced my lips and they met the moment I gave him entrance.

My hands went through his hair to the back of his neck and softly played with the hair on the back of his it. I was the first to pull away, I needed air.

Our breathing was slow and loud as our foreheads rested against each other's. After a couple of seconds, he brought his hands up to my neck moving all the hair that was covering my shoulders. His head leaned down and I let out a small gasp when I felt his cool lips against my neck. He left a hot trail of kisses up and down my neck, sucking here and there.

I finally managed to gain some control and pushed him against the wall. He looked down at me surprisingly, as I smirked up at him. I then put my leg in between his as I stepped even closer to him. He sucked in a breath as I ran my hands up and down his rock hard chest. I leaned up and brought my lips close to his. Our breaths were hot against each other, but as he tried to close the space I leaned back. He looked at me, and he wasn't happy. I smiled, tables are turned now.

My leg then leaned in even more between his as he let out a small groan. Oh how we were both enjoying this. But what surprised me was when Nathan grabbed my arms and turned me so now I was against the wall. He didn't wait a second as our lips met again.

He darted his tongue into my mouth and started exploring. I shivered even more as his hands ran up my bare legs, squeezing my thigh when he reached there. He pulled me closer when he heard a sigh of pleasure come from me. He then made his way back to my neck, his hands now circling the back of my legs.

He kissed the spot just under my ear that made me go crazy, and I felt him smirk in my neck when he realized that I just shivered and moaned at the same time.

"Na... Nathan I have to go." I tried to get out.

"No you don't," he said against my neck.

I smiled as I grabbed his head and brought it back up, "yes I do."

"Just a couple more minutes," he said stepping closer.

I put my hand against his chest forcing him to stop, "I can't. I've been gone for almost twenty minutes, Conner will come and look for me."

He bent down so that his face was very close to mine and whispered, "so let him."

It took all my will power not to close the space between us but I backed up and stepped around him. "I'll see ya later Nathan."

He didn't say anything as I walked back into the club, but I felt his eyes on me the whole time.

----------------------------------------

"Okay! Okay! This is it! Only one more hour before Lucas gets here, and everything looks great!" Brooke said.

It was now Saturday, the day of Lucas's birthday party. And to say Brooke was a nervous wreck would be the understatement of the year. She was hiding it pretty well but underneath she was a time bomb waiting to explode.

Peyton came up from behind Brooke, "You did a great job B. Davis."

She turned her head, "really? You think so?"

I chimed in, "yes Brooke. Lucas will love it."

Brooke let out a long sigh, that's all she needed to hear.

"I'm going to go and check on the band," Peyton said before walking backstage.

I put an arm around Brooke, "you did good Brooke."

She let out a squeal.

--------------------------------------------------------------

"Hey man!" Nathan turned around to see Lucas standing there.

"Hey. What are you doing here?"

"Just thought I would get a few shots in before heading over to Tric."

Nathan passed him the ball and watched Lucas shoot a three-pointer.

"Jake, Skillz and I are meeting there, at Tric. We were going to go to a movie, get some drinks maybe. You ah... you wanna come?"

Nathan looked at Lucas with a questioning look, "you serious?"

Lucas nodded his head, "yeah. Beats staying here by yourself right?"

Nathan grinned, "yeah I guess it does."

After a couple of seconds in silence Lucas spoke, "come on man. It'll be fun."

Nathan looked at Lucas and nodded.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

"He's coming!" Someone yelled from the door.

Peyton stepped to the mic, "Okay everyone! You know what to do! Jake hit the lights!"

The club went dark as Conner, Brooke, and I joined Peyton on the stage along with Bevin and Skillz. Jake soon stepped up once he had made his way through. Everyone was pretty much hiding off to the sides, trying to stay in the darkness.

It was about a minute later when the door opened, and two figures walked in.

"Why the hell is it dark?" I heard Lucas say.

"SURPRISE!" Everyone yelled when the lights went on.

I don't know who was more surprised. Lucas once he saw all of us, or us and the fact that Lucas had just walked in with Nathan.


	8. Party Time Or Not

"What... what's going on?" Lucas asked stepping into the club, Nathan following behind him.

Brooke jumped off the stage and walked over to him, "broody! Happy Birthday!"

Lucas looked at Brooke in his arms, "thank-you, what is all this?" He asked gesturing to all the people looking at him.

"It's your birthday silly, we threw you a party, " Brooke answered swatting his chest.

"But... why?" This time he looked up at us on the stage.

"Come on Luke, your eighteen. You think were just gonna have a party with the eight of us," Peyton said gesturing to us all on the stage.

"I guess I'm just really surprised," Lucas said.

Brooke leaned up and kissed him, "that's the whole point," she said when she broke away from his lips.

"Well," he said running over to the stage and jumping up and turning to the crowd, "thank you everyone for this great surprise!"

Everyone clapped and started merging into their own groups as Lucas turned to us," you guys are so dead."

We all laughed as I stepped up and into Lucas's arms, "happy birthday Luke."

I stepped away to let everyone else wish him a happy birthday, my eyes wondering over to the very uncomfortable looking guy. Why was he here?

"So Luke, you wanna tell us what you're doing with him?" Conner asked once everyone was done.

I wiped my head around, "I found him at the rivercourt, thought he might want to hang out or something. Speaking of," he turned to look for Nathan, "I'm going to go talk to him."

"Make him know that he's not wanted," Conner said,

Lucas looked at him with questioning eyes, "why would I do that?"

"Because," Conner said, "he's not. Lucas come on, no one wants him here."

"Maybe you don't want him here, because of the looks of it," Lucas turned his head towards all the other people in the club, "they don't seem to care."

Conner looked stunned and looked away, Lucas then jumped off the stage and started walking over to Nathan at the bar.

"Hey man," he greeted him.

"Hey. Didn't know it was your birthday."

"Yeah well, it's not a big deal." Lucas said taking the seat next to him.

"Well I don't want to be the elephant in the room so I think I'm gonna head out. See ya at school," Nathan said getting up, Lucas following suit.

"Wait Nate! You don't have to go."

Nathan turned around, "I'm not really sure anybody wants me here."

"I want you here," I said stepping up next to Lucas, Peyton, Brooke, and Jake behind me.

Nathan looked at me before returning to Lucas, "I don't know."

"Nate, your part of the team now. The team is a big part of me and if they're here you should be." Lucas said.

Nathan was silent and then smiled, "you're not going to like hug me now are you?"

Lucas laughed, "no, but I better not come looking for you and find out that you bailed," he slapped Nathan on the shoulder before turning around and throwing his arm around Brooke. They started walking over to the private booth that was for Lucas. Peyton and Jake followed them and I turned to Nathan.

Nathan smirked at me, "your boy's watching."

"Let him, he doesn't control me."

"Since when?" He asked still smirking.

"Since always."

"So you wouldn't care if he saw me..." Nathan took a step towards me," do this."

I took a step back, "Conner loves me. And he knows that I would never betray him."

"Except... you are betraying him aren't you?"

"Nathan, what are doing?"

His smirk still hasn't left, "nothing. Do you know if Rachel is here?" He asked changing the subject.

That took me back, "what?"

His smirk grew, "Rachel. You know hot, redhead, cheerleader, killer body."

He was doing this on purpose, "yeah she's here." I was not going to let him know that it effect me.

"Good, I'm gonna go find her."

"Have fun," I said crossing my arms over my chest.

"Don't worry baby," he tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear, "I will."

I watched him walk away, disappearing into the crowd.

This was going to be a long night.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Hey everyone, you all having fun?" Peyton asked into the mic.

Everyone responded by clapping or yelling.

"Great, great. Well here's a little present to all of you and the birthday boy. Please give a warm welcome to the Goo Goo Dolls!"

Screams could be heard from miles away as the curtain rose and Sympathy started playing.

People made their way to the dance floor and started dancing or watching the band.

"_Stranger than your sympathy_

_And this is my apology_

_I killed myself from the inside out_

_And all my fears have pushed you out"_

"Thank you, you guys. I really appreciate it," Lucas said once Peyton had come back.

"Anything for you, man," Jake said, him and Lucas doing their man handshake.

"Just wait till you see what Haley has planned for you," Brooke said from next to him.

Lucas looked at me, "what's going on?"

"Yeah, what are you talking about?" Skillz asked Brooke.

"You'll see," Peyton said smiling.

Lucas was still looking at me, "Hales?"

"Not telling," I said zipping my lips and throwing away the 'key'.

"Fine, but it better be worth it." Lucas said leaning back into his seat and looking at the band.

"_Oh, yeah_

_It's easy to forget, yeah_

_When you choke on the regrets, yeah_

_Who the hell did I think I was?"_

"How the hell did you guys get Goo Goo Dolls anyway?" Lucas asked.

Peyton groaned, "long story, way to many details."

Lucas laughed, "well thanks again. They're one of my favorites."

"I know," Brooke said cuddling up to him.

I leaned my head against Conner, who had been pretty quite since his little talk with Lucas.

He ran his hand up and down my arm, "what were you and Scott talking about earlier?"

"Umm, nothing. He just wasn't sure if he should stay or not."

"Oh," he said turning he attention back to the band.

"_And I was in love with things I _

_tried to make you believe I was_

_And I wouldn't be the one to kneel _

_before the dreams I wanted_

_And all the dark and all the lies were _

_all the empty things disguised as me"_

I let my eyes wander to the people dancing, or off to the sides laughing with friends, and then to the bar. Nathan and Rachel were there, talking.

Rachel was dressed in low cut jeans, with a black halter top, her red hair flowing over her shoulders. She really was gorgeous, but she was also a skank. She was practically leaning on Nathan because she was so close, and of course he was loving every minute of it. He even had his hand on her hip.

I wouldn't be surprised if they had sex right now.

--------------------------------------------------------------

"Hey guys, thank you very much. We'll be back soon!" Johnny Rzeznik, the lead singer, said.

Karen then stepped up to the mic, "hi everyone. If you don't know me, I'm Lucas's mom. I hope you all are having fun!" Everyone cheered, "and now I would like Lucas to come up here."

Lucas stepped away from some of his teammates and onto the stage next to his mom, "you're not going to pull out my baby pictures are you?"

"No," Karen said, "but I would like for you to sit down in this chair."

Jake came out with a chair and placed it next to Lucas in the center of the stage.

"You're gonna like this man," he said before jumping off the stage.

Lucas looked confused as he sat down in the chair as the club became quite, waiting what was going to happen.

I walked out onto the stage with a mic in my hand and started singing when the music started

"_We met some time ago_

_When we were so young_

_We've been through thick and thin_

_We lost, we've tied, we've won"_

Lucas smiled at me as he watched, I smiled back.

"_Friends Forever (We'll be friends forever)_

_With you everywhere (With you everywhere)_

_Friends forever (We'll be friends)_

_Always will be friends (Always will be friends)"_

I sat down next to him as he made room for me on the chair.

"_If you're down,_

_I'll pick you up,_

_I'll never let you fall._

_If you ever need someone,_

_I'm waiting for your call."_

Brooke, Peyton and the others watched with everyone else, with smiles on their faces. Lucas and Haley had a friendship like no one else, and Haley was singing it exactly how it was.

"_Through it all, hangin' tough,_

_We'll stay side by side._

_We'll be friends forever,_

_Til' the end of time."_

I got up off the chair and walked over to the curtains, still singing, and grabbed the box that was behind the curtain.

"_Friends Forever (We'll be friends)_

_With you everywhere_

_Talkin bout Friends forever (Always will be there)_

_We'll be there (We'll be there)_

_Yeah, yeah friends. (Friends forever)"_

I handed Lucas his present and watched him open it while I was still singing, and a huge smile swept across his face. He pulled the small basketball out of the box and stared at the signature.

"_Always be friends. (With you everywhere)_

_We'll be friends together. (Friends forever)_

_Yes we will, (Always will be there there)_

_Yes we will, (Will be there)_

_Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oohhhh."_

When I finished the song, Lucas jumped up and pulled me into his arms twirling me around in circles. I laughed as he did it, knowing he loved his presents. The club was booming with applause, whistles, and cheers.

Lucas let me down back onto the ground, "thank-you Haley. You have no idea what this means to me."

"No problem," I said before our friends had joined us on the stage.

"Let me see it," Jake said holding out his hand. Lucas handed him the ball and Jake admired it.

"When Haley told me what she was getting you, I was so jealous. I still am," he said.

"What is it?" Brooke asked from next to Lucas.

"It's a basketball with Charles Barkley's signature on it," Lucas responded taking it back from Jake.

"Whose that?" Brooke asked.

"He's only the best small forward in NBA history, and my favorite player," Lucas said looking at me, reminding me that he loved it.

I smiled back at him and looked at Brooke, "don't worry Brookie, I'm sure your present will top that." I said teasingly.

Brooke shot me a death glare as everyone laughed and we made our way off the stage. Soon after, the band came back on.

Everything was going great. Hopefully it will stay that way.

-------------------------------------------

"Oh hey Holly," I mentally groaned when I heard her voice. I turned and leaned against the bar as I faced Rachel.

"What do you want?" I seriously was not up for her and her voice right now.

"I just wanted to thank-you Holly."

I gave her confused look, "thanks for what?"

"Oh you know, for not hanging around Nathan tonight. Him and I have really talked" she said with a purpose look on her face.

"That's great Rachel, I'm really happy for you," I said turning around but only to walk into Nathan's hard rock chest.

"Where you going?" He asked looking down on me. Have I mentioned that he is like ten feet taller than I am.

"To my friends," I answered. Being stuck in between my not-so-great friend and my-not-so-boyfriend really was not all that flattering.

"Why don't you hang out with me?"

I gave him an 'are you serious' look and he just smirked, as usual.

"Yeah, like I'm going to do that."

"Come on Nathan. she would rather be playing house with her boyfriend than you," Rachel said from behind me.

Nathan didn't look up at Rachel when she addressed him, his eyes never left mine.

"What are you afraid of?"

I leaned back, shocked. "What are talking about?" I asked in a whisper.

"Why are you so afraid that your boy is going to see, why are you so afraid of being without him? Why do you think your life will be a complete mess if he's not there?"

Nathan was scaring me right now, not because of his questions, but the look in his eyes as he stared at me. He needed to know why I wouldn't leave Conner for him.

"Because I love him," I whispered and started to walk past him but he grabbed my waist.

"You sure about that?" He asked in my ear.

I looked up at him and our eyes locked. How long we were standing there, I have no idea. But when I heard Conner's voice I immediately pulled away from him.

"What the hell do you think you're doing Scott?" Conner roared.

Nathan rolled his eyes, "nothing, just mind your own fucking business Jacobs." He said turning to face him.

"No, when I see your fucking hand on my girlfriend I'm not going to mind my own business."

Nathan was still smirking, "why not? It looks like she likes me touching her more than you."

I didn't even see Conner's fist collide with Nathan's jaw, I didn't even realize what was going on until Nathan was wiped around and holding his jaw facing me.

"Nathan! Are you okay?" I asked putting my hands on his face.

He straightened back up and turned back to Conner, laughing.

"You know what Jacobs, if that did hurt I you would be dead right now. But because it didn't I'm gonna let you live, this time." The worst part was that Nathan was completely serious.

Conner then laughed, "right. I'm so scared."

Nathan smirked again before turning around, "see you around Jacobs."

"What?" Conner called out, "is the great Nathan Scott walking away? What will everyone think now?" I then looked around to see about everyone in the club staring at us. Rachel had stayed to the side the whole time.

Nathan was facing me, and I could tell it was taking everything in him not to beat the shit out of my boyfriend. Why he was holding back? Why hadn't he beaten Conner to bloody pulp yet? What was stopping him?

Then as if reading my mind Nathan turned his attention towards and me, and whispered, "you."

Nathan then walked past me, but did not get very far before Conner called out his name again.

"What? What the hell do you want Jacobs?" Nathan asked with an agitated voice, turning back around. Lucas had made his way through the crowd and now stood behind Conner, probably to help his good friend out if Nathan did strike.

"I want you to tell me what the hell you were doing to my girlfriend," Conner demanded.

"Why don't you ask her," I turned my head around to Nathan's. His eyes were on me again.

"Wrong answer, I want to hear it from you since it was your hand on her."

"God get over it, it's not like other guys haven't touched her before."

"Excuse me?" This time I was the one asking the question, "what the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"It means you're a whore," I turned my head to Rachel.

"No," Nathan said, "it means that since when do you get all protective when I touch her but what about Lucas? Or Jake? I see them touching her and you don't go all girly on them."

"Because I trust them, unlike you, you son of a bitch."

Nathan made a fake pout, "aw, you don't trust me? That hurts Jacobs, that really hurts."

"Just answer the damn question!" Conner boomed.

"I don't have to tell you anything Connie."

"What are you so afraid of Nathan? Huh? Worried that when I hear the truth I'll beat the crap out of you?" Conner asked with a smile on his face. Did he not hear Nathan's threat a couple minutes ago?

Nathan smiled, an amused smile on his face, and walked closer to Conner until he was face to face with him.

"You got a lot to learn boy."

"I'm shaking in my boots, you pathetic wannabe gangster," Conner spat out.

All of a sudden Nathan swung his arm and collided with Conner's face. The force of impact was so strong his sent Conner flying onto the ground.

There was a loud gasp throughout the club, as Conner rolled on the floor groaning.

"Now you scared?" Nathan asked hovering over him.

"What the hell Nathan!" I yelled yanking him back and bending down next to Conner. "Conner, baby, are you okay?" I asked soothingly.

I looked back up at Nathan, and his eyes were back on me. Most of the emotion in his eyes, were filled with anger, but there was a hint of guilt in them too.

"Come on man, let's go outside and cool off," Lucas said grabbing Nathan's arm and leading him to the exit.

"Let's get him upstairs and put some ice on his nose." Karen came out of nowhere and started helping me try and get Conner up off the floor.

This night could have gone better.

-----------------------------------------------

"What the hell were you thinking last night Nathan?"

Nathan turned around to face me. I searched everywhere in the town, remembering he would probably be at the rivercourt. Of course that's exactly where he was.

"What are you talking about?" He asked walking closer to me.

"Conner has a broken nose Nathan! You gave him a broken nose!"

Nathan tried not to let the smirk graze his lips, but failed.

"And I feel really bad about that, I really do."

"God!" I ran my hands through my hair in frustration, "what the hell Nathan!"

"What's the big deal Haley? Are you forgetting he started it?"

I laughed, "what are you in fifth grade? Maybe playing the whole he started it bid will make you feel better, but it doesn't excuse what you did Nathan."

"What the hell did I do?" He was yelling, he was yelling at me. He never yelled at me before.

"You gave my boyfriend a fringing broken nose, that's what you did!"

"Oh so now he's your boyfriend?"

I was confused now, "he's always been my boyfriend."

"Right, just like he was your boyfriend at the club, or the party, or in my shower, I could go on and on."

"Why are you making this so hard? What happened to that promise Nathan, the promise you made me make? Did that affect you or just me?"

That made him quite for a few seconds as we stared at one another.

"I'm sorry, I never should have hit him."

"Why did you?" I choked out.

"I just..." he paused for a few seconds, "I just wanted to so bad."

"And that's a good reason?" I was back to yelling, no, more like screeching.

"I just thought..." he trailed off.

"Thought what?"

He smiled a little, "I thought that maybe if he had a broken nose you wouldn't want to kiss him anymore."

"Stop lying to me," I sternly said.

The smile vanished, "fine you want to know the truth?"

"Yes!"

"I was protecting you!" Nathan yelled into my face.

What? "What?"

"I was protecting you, the only way I could get him to stop asking questions was to make him stop talking altogether. Punching him was the only thing that came to mind."

"Why did you have to make him stop talking?"

"So he wouldn't keep asking me why I was touching you."

My anger slowly went away, "so you punched him?" It came out more of a laugh though.

Nathan smiled again, "yeah. It was a good punch though, wasn't it?"

I smiled, "it'll go in the record books."

He stepped closer to me, "you were turned on though weren't you?"

I laughed as I said, "no." Truth was, it was pretty hot.

"Don't lie, you wanted to caress my fist more than his face didn't you?"

"And what makes you think that?" I asked crossing my arms across my chest.

"Because I know you, you want me James. I know it."

"And I know the real reason why you came with Lucas to that party."

"Why's that?"

"Cause the truth is, you really wanted to see me." I said with a smile.

"You got that right," he said before grabbing my crossed arms and pulling me closer, his lips meeting mine.

I ran my hands up his hard chest as his tongue ran along my bottom lip, I opened my mouth to grant him access. I felt the pleasure of it as he explored my mouth. I leaned into him more when I felt his hand come up and start massaging my shoulder.

I then pulled way from him and made my way to his neck, kissing and sucking on it.

"Hales," Nathan moaned out my nickname. I smiled against his neck as he placed his hand underneath the hem of my shirt, grazing his finger across my bare skin.

"If only we were in my shower right now," Nathan said.

I laughed softly moving my mouth back to his, our tongues battling. I pulled away after a couple of minutes, air becoming an issue.

"I have to meet Brooke," I said softly.

"I have to meet Lucas."

I leaned back, startled. "Lucas?"

"Yeah, I'm going his house to check out the new NBA Live."

"Oh, well have fun."

"I'll try not to think about you."

I smiled, "don't try too hard."

"Never."

I leaned up, the kiss soft, and long. A goodbye kiss. A kiss Conner and I never do. Nathan linked his hand through mine during the whole thing.

I pulled away slowly, "bye," I started walking away our hands still linked. We let go when our arms were completely straight.

I was about to get into my car when the door slammed shut. I turned around to be face to face with Rachel. Wonderful.

"What now?"

"I want you to stay the hell away from him," she said with fire in her eyes.

"What are you talking about?"

"Stay, the, hell, away, from, Nathan." She said emphasizing every word.

"And what if I don't?"

"Then I'll show the whole school what a cheating liar whore you are." She said with a small smile on her face.

"Show them what?"

"This," she opened her cell phone and showed me a picture.

A picture of Nathan and I, kissing at the club.

I took a deep breath, "what do you want?"

"For you to stay the hell away from Nathan."

"You really think that I'm threatened by a picture?"

Rachel smiled, "if you knew that you could end up loosing Conner, you would."

She had me. She wanted Nathan, and now she could get him. I had to let one go if I wanted the other. I realized then that I couldn't have both of them. I was being careless with Nathan, and now it's come back to bite my in the ass.

"So we have a deal Holly? You stay the hell away from Nathan, and you get to keep Conner."

"How do I know that you won't show everyone the picture anyway?"

Rachel laughed, "you don't. I guess you're just gonna have to trust me. So deal, or no deal?"

I looked at her, then turned my head to look at Nathan who was shooting on the rivercourt. I turned back around to the bitch,

"deal."

Who knew that kiss would probably be the last kiss Nathan and I ever had.

**A/N: Hey everyone! Sorry bout the long update, hope this chapter makes up for it! Now this is where things are going to start to get very interesting! Haha, hope you are looking forward to is as much as I am.**

**Update: Flying Without Wings- It's not coming along, sorry ******

**Somebody To Love- Update sometime this week!**

**Oh and p.s. this past episode of OTH had me in tears! I was crying the moment Nathan walked into the house, knowing this would be turning point for Naley. But don't lose hope Naley fans, like our favorite couple always say "ALWAYS AND FOREVER!"**

**PLEASE REVIEW!!!!!!**


	9. Bitch Fights and Library Make Out

**Hello! How is everyone! Well I will have you know that I just got back from a wonderful vacation to North Carolina! It was gorgeous down there, and I was right on the beach and it was amazing! I was only a couple miles away from Wilmington, and I wanted so bad to drive down and see if I could catch any one from the cast. However my mom said no, I almost cried. Haha! Anyway because I was outside a lot I was able to write some chapters so expect updates the next four days! **

**On with the story!**

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_9 Months Ago_

_"Yes Brooke, yes I know. No, I will not forget. I'm hanging up on you now! Bye!" I closed my phone shut, and shook my head. That girl could be so annoying sometimes, but, I still love her._

_I walked into Bra and Beyond, my mother asked for this and only this for her birthday. How pathetic is that? She wants her daughter to buy her lingerie so she can have an awesome birthday with her boy toy of the week._

_"Hi, welcome to Bra and Beyond. Do you need help finding anything?" The tall gorgeous saleswoman asked me. I wonder if they hire all their staff like her?_

_"Um, actually I'm looking for something for my mother, something that says 'I'm a slut, and I know it'."_

_The saleswoman laughed, "I think we can help you out."_

_I smiled and followed her._

_After about thirty minutes of shopping, that's how long I promised myself I would spend on this woman, I thanked the saleswoman and walked out._

_I reached into my purse to find my phone, but I couldn't. I brought the purse up to my face so I could see what was inside, of course not paying any attention to what was in front of me._

_I'm looking for my phone one second, then bumping into a stone hard chest and falling flat on my butt the next. Oh, it was very comical to the people watching, but it wasn't their butts that hurt._

_I looked up to see the cause of my fall, and almost screamed. I had just bumped into Nathan Scott, I wouldn't be surprised if he pulled a knife out on me for even touching him._

_He goes to my school, but 'go' he doesn't. I think I have seen him at Tree Hill High a good one time. No joke. How he is even in the same grade as I am, is beyond me._

_I scrambled up, thanking god that my purse contents hadn't flown everywhere, and faced him._

_I looked at his face, and he looked like he was about to kill. His eyes met mine, which was not a good thing. His eyes were gorgeous, they were an ocean icy blue that any girl could get lost into. Unfortunately I was one of those girls, as I stood there staring into his eyes._

_It was broken however when I heard his voice speak, "you should really watch where you're going, never know who you might run into."_

_Then he did something so appalling, however I don't know if I wanted to slap him or feel flushed. His eyes looked down to my legs, roamed up past my skirt and shirt, lingered on my chest, and finally met my eyes again. Then he smirked,_

_"then again, you could run into me any day."_

_I dropped my eyes to the ground, was he flirting with me?_

_"Sorry, about that. I wasn't paying attention."_

_"Don't worry about it, guess you were just excited to see your boyfriend huh?"_

_I looked up at him, "what?"_

_He motioned to the bag I was holding, "gettin something special for him?" Why did Bra and Beyond feel the need to put their name in huge font on the bag._

_I pulled the bag behind me, "it's for my mother."_

_His eyebrows quirked together in the cutest way, "your mother? Why the hell are you shopping for your mother?"_

_"It's her birthday."_

_"So you buy her sexy underwear? Man I might come and join your family if you party that way."_

_"It's for her boyfriend," I shot back. Who the hell did this guy think he was?_

_"If that's your story."_

_I rolled my eyes, "look, again I'm sorry I bumped..." however I was interrupted._

_"You go to Tree Hill don't you?"_

_My eyes grew, "yeah I do."_

_"Yeah I've seen you, with that guy Jacobs right?"_

_I tucked a loose strand of my hair behind my ear, "yeah, he's my boyfriend."_

_"Of course he is," he said with that smirk still plastered on his face._

_"And what is that supposed to mean?" I asked defensively._

_"Nothing, I guess I just will never understand how a little punk-ass like Jacobs could get probably the hottest girl in school."_

_I looked away, "maybe you should go to school and find out." I said with my own smirk._

_Then I saw Nathan Scott smile, truly fully smile. His teeth were bright white and his ocean eyes seemed to light up his entire face. I couldn't help it, I smiled at the sight._

_"I have to go," after a moment of silence and walked past him._

_"I'll see you later James!"_

_I stopped and turned around, but he was gone. How the hell did he know my name?_

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"HALEY!" I cringed at the sound of my mother's voice. It was way to early in the morning to deal with her.

It had been two weeks since Lucas's party, two weeks that I haven't spoken to Nathan. Two whole weeks of seeing him and that whore together at school. He would try and come talk to me, but I would walk away before he got the chance. I made sure I was with Conner a lot, that way I knew he wouldn't try to come over. To say it was killing me, that would be an understatement.

"Haley Elizabeth James! Get down here now!"

I yanked the covers off of me, this bitch was going to get a beat-down.

I found her in the kitchen reading a magazine with her $300 dollar glasses on.

"What do you want?" I asked her.

She looked up at me, "I have been waiting for ten minutes for you. You want to be a little more considerate please?"

I walked over to the fridge, "want to be less of a bitch?" I pulled out the orange juice.

"I swear, it was a complete waste of my time to try and raise you to be a young lady. I think your are the most ungrateful daughter there ever was."

"What did you want Elizabeth?" I seriously did not want to listen to another lecture from her right now.

"Your grandparents just called, they want to come down for Thanksgiving."

That made me cheer up, "really? Awesome."

"Yes, wonderful." Elizabeth muttered.

Zed and Marie James were probably the only reason why I stayed in this family, they were the last thing thing that was connected to my father. Elizabeth was not really fond of her in-laws, which made their visits even more sweeter.

"When are they coming?"

"On monday, you'll have to pick them up."

I put my glass of OJ down, "fine. Don't forget that I'm going to Luke's house on Wednesday to eat dinner with his family." When she looked at me like she was completely confused I elaborated, "I told you a couple days ago. I know all of his family and they would like it if I was there to see them one night."

"I think I would remember that."

I scoffed, "or maybe you were too drunk to even process what I was saying to you, whore."

"That is it!" She pushed her chair back and stood up, "I am sick and tired of listening to your mouth!"

"Wow mom, now you start to act like my mother. Way to go, it only took you eighteen years to get the memo."

I had hit her breaking point, she walked around the island and stood in front of me.

"You listen hear, I will not tolerate this anymore! Do you understand me? You have never talked to me like this before, ever since your fathers death..."

"Don't! Don't even think of bringing dad into this, because this is your fault! Dad has been there for me more than you have, and he's dead! Don't blame him for your horrible parenting skills. Sometimes I even wonder if you even loved him, or if you loved his money."

Elizabeth brought her hand up and slapped me across the face. I brought my hand to my cheek and looked at her, amusement on my face.

"How dare you, you little slut." She gritted out through her teeth.

"I bet you have been just waiting to do that haven't you? Just waiting to hit your only daughter."

She stared at me for a couple more seconds before walking past me, and walking up the stairs.

I was breathing hard, that was the worst fight we ever had. I grabbed my keys and walked out the front door, slamming it behind me.

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How can teacher's be so cruel? Giving us homework over holidays, even worse a research paper. How more evil can you get?

So that's where I am right now, in the local library looking up heroes in WWII. Exactly what I wanted to be doing on my vacation, but it did seem to calm me down after the fight with Elizabeth. The shock of her hitting me came over when I was driving here. She's done some pretty horrible things, forgetting to pick me up from the zoo, forgetting my birthday, and even throwing away my stuffed animal that dad had given me. However her slapping me pretty much beats all.

I was only at the computer for five minutes when I found out a book that would help me. I stood up and asked the librarian to help me find the section. She took me all the way to the back of the library and left me there to fend for myself. I had to hold back the comment I wanted to shout at her retrieving back.

Now I normally like libraries, but that was when I was closer to the front and I could hear whispers. Where I was, there were cob webs on the bookshelves and complete quite.

I was looking ahead trying to find my book, oblivious to the footsteps that were coming 

close.

It wasn't till the last second that I heard them and turned around only to be met by Nathan and his arms caging me in.

"Have you been avoiding me?" His breath was hot on my face, and I really had to control myself. It was pretty warm outside right now, so Nathan wearing only a wife beater and jeans was really not helping.

"How did you know I was here?"

"I followed you."

"Oh. Well actually I have to go now," I said stepping into him trying to make him uncage me. No such luck. He grabbed my shoulder and pushed me back against the shelves.

"You're not going anywhere. I've gone two weeks without kissing you, I ain't waiting any longer."

I had no time to protest because his lips were already on mine. I wrapped my arms around his back and brought his body closer to mine. Our tongues were clashing together, trying to gain dominance.

"So are you going to tell me why you're avoiding me?" He asked pulling away from me and looking down on me.

"I haven't, I've just been really busy." I lied.

"Why don't I believe you?"

I couldn't say anything, I hated lying to him more than lying to Conner.

His eyes then went to the side of my face, and brought his hand up to caress my red cheek.

"What happened?"

"My mom," I laughed out.

"Your mother hit you?"

"More like bitch-slapped me," I said with a small laugh.

"What happened?" 

"Just the usual, her thinking I'm ungrateful and that she's the best mother in the world. Lucky for me, I get to remind her that she isn't." The weirdest thing is, only Lucas knows how bad my mom really is, and Nathan. Not even Brooke or Peyton know how awful she can really get.

He didn't say anything, but looked down at me and caressed my cheek. I can't believe I realized how much I really had missed him the past two weeks. Trying to get back to reality I brought up the whore,

"so are you and Rachel like a thing now?"

"Me and Rachel?" I couldn't tell but it looked like disgust washed over his face, which brought me much joy.

"Yeah, I've seen you two together a lot. What's going on?"

"Why do you care?" He asked with a smirk.

"I don't," that was a lie, "I was just asking. It's called small talk Nathan."

He laughed, and I smiled. He started playing with a strand of my hair, twirling it around his finger.

"What are you doing this week?" He asked.

"Um, nothing. Grandparents are coming in, Conner is leaving along with Brooke and Peyton. Lucas is having this huge family thing and Jake also has family coming in. I'm going to be all alone with my mother, yay!" I said sarcastically.

Nathan leaned down so his face was less than inches from mine, "well than it's a good thing that I'm not going anywhere."

I smirked up at him, "and why is that a good thing?"

"So I can do this without you worrying about your friends finding out," he closed the distance and we were kissing again.

I have no idea how long we were in the back of the library making out, but I really did not care. It had been two weeks since I last felt his touch and I was not going to waste a second.

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"Haley? That you?" Elizabeth asked from her office in a sweet tone. The thing is that when we fight, she seems to forget about it hours later. She acts like nothing ever happens, and sometimes it's better that way.

"Yeah!" I called back, not wanting to get into another fight about how I didn't answer her.

"I ordered chinese food!"

"Great!" I said climbing the stairs and entering my room, closing the door behind me.

It was still pretty early, but because everyone was gone or busy for the holidays I didn't really have much of a choice. I left Nathan because if I hadn't I probably would have had sex with him right there in the library.

I started to think about when my mother and I started acting like this, it wasn't right after my fathers death. Actually after the funeral, her and I were never closer. We hung out together, cried on one another shoulders, and helped the other get through all the changes. About a year after the death, that's when everything changed. Mom would came home late, she would have all these marks on her necks, lie to me that the were iron burns. It took me awhile before I realized that she was sleeping around. It broke my heart.

So soon after dads death, she was already looking for a new lay. That's when I started hating her, that' when our relationship went sour.

God how I wished he could be here right now, with me. Maybe then he could help me with all this crap that I am going through. I could tell him that I was sneaking around Conner's back, tell him that I had feelings for Nathan Scott. He wouldn't judge, he would tell me to follow my heart and choose the one I wanted. God how I missed him.

So I started to cry, I only cried once every few months when it came to my father. Nobody knew how hard it was for me, living with someone who secretly blamed me for their husbands death. 

Right there in that moment, more than anyone I wanted Nathan by my side to hold me.

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**Hope you liked it. Oh and Can I say this weeks episode of OTH was amazing! Naley had me in tears! Their whole performance was just spectacular!**

**DON"T FOGET TO REVIEW PLEASE!**


	10. TarHeel

**Told you guys I had updates! Thanks everyone for the reviews! I had fun writing this chapter! The end will have you guys going crazy! Next chapter was my favorite to write, and I'm sure it will be your too! Enjoy 3**

"Haley, honey," I heard a faint voice say. "Sweetie pie, time to wake up." What the hell did she want now? I turned onto my stomach and put my pillow over my head.

"Go away," I said in a muffled voice.

"I have a present for you though, you have to get up."

I groaned and sat up in my bed, facing the woman who was sitting at the edge of it. "Yes?" I asked her in a tired and annoyed voice. It's monday and the first day of no school this week, I was not planning on waking up at ten.

"Look honey I know things have been a little testy since saturday and what happened," she said in a motherly voice. Is it bad to want to punch your own mother?

"Yeah, I guess it has," agreeing with her.

"And I thought that maybe to make up for what happened," the whole slapping me thing, "that I get you something."

Right then I heard a small bark, was that a dog? I looked at Elizabeth, "what did you get me?"

She smiled before leaning down to the side of my bed and picking something up.

"You bought me a dog?" I asked when I saw it. I was so not expecting this. 

"Isn't he gorgeous? He's a Czechoslovakian Wolfdog, and he's one of the best breeds there is." He was small, gray and white. He was adorable as he made his way up my bed and onto my lap.

"Why did you get me a dog mom?" I asked her petting him while looking at her. She was completely crazy.

"Well I know that I'm not always home and I thought that maybe your attitude has something to do with my absence."

I scoffed, "trust me, that's not it."

However she ignored me and kept on smiling, "so what do you think? This way maybe you won't be so lonely."

"Mom you do know that someone has to take care of it while you and I are both away at work and school right?" Did she even think about this?

"I know, that's why I hired a professional dog carer. He'll come in during the days and teach him how to behave. Soon we will be able to leave him by himself."

I looked at her like she had four heads. I can't believe this.

"So what do you think? Do you like him?" She asked me talking about my new dog.

I looked down on him and smiled, he was really cute.

"Yeah mom, I love him," I said the best I could. Elizabeth smiled and got up off the bed walking over to my door.

"I was thinking that maybe you can go shopping today and get some stuff for him," she said turning around.

"I have to pick up grandma and grandpa at the airport."

She smiled at me, "don't worry about it. I can pick them up, you bond with your new dog."

I gave her a small smile, "what's his name anyway?"

Elizabeth smiled, "that's your call." She left without another word.

I looked back down at the small puppy now sleeping in my lap and smiled. It took me awhile but I figured out what I was going to call him, looking to my wall and one of the many poster's on it I looked back down onto my dog,

"Hey Tar-Heel, hey you," I cooed to the puppy.

"She bought you a dog?" Lucas asked through the phone.

"Yep," I answered back. Luke had a whole bunch of his relatives over, and since he was the oldest he had to baby-sit all the kids while the adults had their own fun. Lucas was relieved when he saw I had called, he needed a break from all his wild cousins.

"To make up for your little fight?"

"Well, to make up for all the fights we've had. I swear she's high."

Lucas laughed, "wow. And you named him after your favorite school?"

"Our favorite school," I reminded him. UNC is where Lucas and I planned to go. We've been a tar-heel since sixth grade. And right now I totally have a crush on their leading basketball player Tyler Hansbrough.

"Wow Hales, your mom has really done it hasn't she?" He asked laughing a little.

"Oh yeah, and get this. She even let me off the hook of picking up my grandparents this afternoon. Instead she wants me to go get stuff for him and 'bond' with my new dog."

"That'll be fun," he said sarcastically.

"Oh so much," I said laughing.

"Hey, how about I come with you?"

"Sure if you want to, just want to find an excuse to get out of the house don't you?"

"You know me too well James," I laughed.

"Come by around three."

"See you then," we both hung up.

"So what exactly are we looking for?" Lucas asked me when we walked into Pet's Galore. The smell in the store was unbearable, it was more like rat's galore.

"Um, food, bed, leash, and toys," I said trying to remember the mental list I had made. We decided that it would be best if Tar-Heel came with us, maybe the people who worked here could help us if they knew what the dog was like. Elizabeth sort of forgot to buy a leash when she bought him so I had to carry him everywhere. Good thing he wasn't that heavy yet.

"All right lets get shopping!" Lucas yelled and started walking towards the dog section, I followed him with Tar-Heel in my arms.

It took about two hours to finally get everything and buy it all. It was actually pretty fun, Tar-Heel made a lot of the choices. Lucas and I would place a bed in front of him and he would bark for the ones he didn't like, and for the ones that he did like he would just keeping laying there. He was slowly growing on me, and I could tell he was growing on Lucas too.

We walked out of the store, Tar-Heel on his new leash, Lucas holding all the bags.

"So, where now?" I asked him when we reached his car.

"Do you want call Jake and see if he's up for going to the river court?" Lucas asked starting the engine up.

"Wow Luke, the river court? We've never been there before," I said sarcastically.

"Just dial the number," I laughed at him and wiped out my cell phone.

"Hey Jakey-poo!" I said when he answered.

"Never call me that again please," he said.

I laughed, "so what are you up to?"

"Nothing, mom and dad are out doing shopping while my aunts and uncles went site seeing. How bout you?"

"Lucas and I are headed to the river court, want to join us?"

"Sure, I'll meet you guys there."

"Bye Jakey-poo!" I hung up before he could respond.

"What's the verdict?" Lucas asked.

"He'll be there."

"What the hell is this?" I turned around to see Jake a couple feet away looking at Tar-Heel playing with a toy basketball.

"This is my new dog," I said standing up from the bench and facing him.

He looked at me, "excuse me?"

I laughed, "long story dude, but short version? I have a new dog and his name is Tar-Heel. Do you like him?"

Jake smiled, "yeah he's cute." He looked back up at me, "Tar-Heel Haley? Seriously?"

"What?" I asked innocently.

"You're so weird," he said shaking his head and walking past me.

Lucas met him half way, "I tell her that every day." Him and Jake did their man-greeting- handshake thing.

"Shut up," I said to him sitting back down on top of the bench.

The two both laughed and started shooting around with the ball. I let Tar-Heel off the leash about ten minutes later, I thought he would like to roam around a little. He stayed pretty close to me, I only had to get call him back a couple times. He started barking and then ran away towards the parking lot. I turned around to see what he was doing when I saw Nathan walking towards us. I sucked in a breath, what was he doing here?

"Hey Nate!" Lucas called out when he saw him.

Tar-Heel ran up to Nathan and started jumping on his hind legs, wagging his tail like crazy. Nathan reached down and picked him up, making his way over to me.

"This yours?" He asked me standing next to the bench.

I nodded, "yeah, mom got him for a truce type thing."

He gave a small smile, "what's it's name?"

"His name is Tar-Heel."

Nathan laughed, "now see we have a problem."

I smiled, "and why's that?"

"Because I'm a huge Duke fan."

"Oh, well I guess we do have a problem then don't we."

His smile turned into a smirk, "I think I can make an exception this one time."

"That's good."

"Hey man," Lucas said coming to stand next to Nathan.

He turned to him, "hey."

"Want to play?"

Nathan glanced at me quickly, "sure." He bent down and put Tar-Heel back on the ground, Tar-Heel not liking that he started barking.

We all laughed, "looks like he likes you Nate."

"Yeah that's all I need, another dog hanging around me."

Lucas laughed, "ouch!"

I tried to hide the hurt in my face, what did he mean by that? I met Nathan's gaze and knew that he didn't mean me.

"Hey Hales you want to play?"

I looked at Lucas, "you know I suck."

"That's okay, you can be on my team. It's not like I can't beat these punks by myself," he said with a smile on his face.

"Hey Luke!" Lucas turned to Jake, "go Brooke yourself!"

We all cracked up, oh if only Brooke was here.

"All right, Haley and I are a team, Jake and Nathan one."

I tied Tar-Heel up to the bench and walked over to Lucas, "sorry if we lose."

"Don't worry, we got this," we bumped fist and faced our opponents. How did it end up that I got paired with Nathan?

Lucas and Jake stood in the center of the court, about to check the ball.

"You better be able to control yourself James," I heard Nathan whisper to me. I turned to him, he was pretty close, a little too close.

"And why's that?"

"Seeing me all sweaty, you might not be able to keep your hands off of me," he said with a smirk.

"I'll have you know, that I can control myself just perfectly," I shot back.

His smirk grew wider, "whatever you say Hales."

The next thing I know, he darts past me and runs to the basket. Jumping up when Jake passes him the ball and slamming it into the net.

"Haley!" I turned my head towards Lucas, "where were you?"

I smiled, "sorry!"

The game pretty much went down hill from there, Lucas learned not to pass me the ball. He did when he had to, which was not much. I really did have to control myself though, Nathan and Lucas even took their shirts off in the middle of it. Seeing Nathan all hot, sweaty, and his bulging muscles was probably the most greatest thing ever. That boy has no idea what he does to me.

There was one point in the game where I had the ball and my back was turned, and Nathan was pressed really close to me. His bare chest touching me, and his sweat dripping onto my shirt. In the end I ended up losing control of the ball and Nathan stealing it away from me. I prayed that Lucas and Jake didn't see how flushed I was.

The game ended, 21 to 10. Yeah I really sucked at sports, that's why I am always on the sidelines. Tar-Heel barked every time Nathan scored a basket. He really liked Nathan, which may cause a problem.

"All right, well that was fun," Lucas said, his sarcasm very noticeable.

"Don't be a sore loser," Nathan said smacking him on the back.

Jake laughed, "yeah man, you had the best player on your team."

Nathan and Jake laughed and I glowered at them, "you both suck."

"Shit," I looked at Lucas.

"What's wrong?"

"It's past seven, mom wanted me home twenty minutes ago. We have to go Hales," he started walking towards his car.

"Okay," I turned around towards the other two, "bye guys."

I looked at Nathan, and gave him a small nod.

"See you guys later!" Lucas called back. He needed to get home.

I untied Tar-Heel and started following Lucas.

I climbed into his car, Tar-Heel in my lap, and Lucas started the car.

"That was fun," he said pulling out of the park.

"Yeah, that was," I looked back at the river court to see Nathan and Jake shooting around. I smiled, Nathan was really starting to fit in.

"Haley-Bub!" I smiled and ran into grandpa's arms.

"I missed you," I said still hugging him.

"I missed you too princess. Where were you?" He asked when we pulled away.

"I was with some friends, down at the river court." I let Tar-Heel in the backyard, we had a fence so it was okay to let him loose.

"That sounds fun, how are you sweetie?"

"I'm good, I'm good. How are you grandpa?"

We started walking towards the back door, "old dear, I'm old."

I laughed, "I don't believe that. You look like you're forty."

He laughed, "don't get my hopes up dear."

"There's my gorgeous granddaughter," I turned my head to see nanna and mom sitting on the chairs on the patio.

"Hi Nanna," I wrapped my arms around her. I loved the smell of her perfume, it always made me feel safe.

"How are you?" She asked.

"I'm doing okay, but how are you? You look great," I said looking at her. They were both 72, but they looked so much younger than that.

"Thank-you, I was just telling your mother how she doesn't look a day over twenty."

Elizabeth laughed, her obviously not knowing it was a compliment. That's what I loved about them, they did not like Elizabeth at all. They only put up with her for me, because I was their son's daughter. And even know he's gone, they still make the effort to come and see me.

"I'm gonna go and order some thai, is that alright?" Elizabeth asked.

"Sure dear that's fine," grandpa told her.

"So Haley, hows school going?" Nanna asked me once Elizabeth left.

"Great, I'm just excited to get out of here."

She smiled at me, knowing exactly what I meant by that.

"Have you heard from any of your colleges?" Grandpa asked.

I turned to him, "Notre Dame, Stanford, Princeton and Yale."

"And? What did they say?" Nanna asked.

"I got in to all of them," I said with a beaming smile on my face.

They both yelled in excitement, "that's great!"

"Have you narrowed it down?

"Well I still am waiting for one other college," I told her.

"Which one?"

"University of North Carolina," they both smiled.

"Just like your father," Nanna said.

I turned to her, "sorry?"

"Honey that's where your father went," Grandpa said.

"Really? I...I never knew that," I said in a whisper.

Nanna put a hand on my knee, "he was a Tar-Heel."

At that exact moment, Tar-Heel came running and jumped onto my lap, surprising Nanna.

"What's this?" She asked laughing and petting him.

"This, grandpa and nanna, is Tar-Heel, my new dog."

"You got a dog?" Grandpa asked.

I nodded, "mom got him for me." I left out that why though.

Having nanna and grandpa here really made happy, it made me feel like I was loved in this family. Elizabeth decided that she was going to go against her parents plans for her and live her own life, that was the last time she talked to them. Both her and dad were only childs, so no aunts and uncles for me. Having them here was a good comfort, reminding me of what dad was like.

Later that night, I was in my room watching T.V. with Tar-Heel sleeping next to me. I was catching up on my soap, General Hospital, when my cell rang. I looked at the caller i.d. and smiled. It was Matt, aka Nathan. I thought it would be a good idea if I put his number under a different name, just in case anyone started looking through my phone. Questions would be asked if they saw that I had Nathan's number in there.

"Hello?" I said into the receiver.

"What are you doing tomorrow?" His silky voice asked me.

I smiled, "nothing, why?"

"Because you're going for a ride tomorrow, with me."

I was confused, "where?"

"You'll see, meet me at the river court..." I interrupted him.

"Mom is taking my grandparents to Surf City tomorrow, they are thinking about buying a house down here. You can pick me up here," I told him.

"Be ready by noon," then he hung up.

I closed my phone and returned to watching General Hospital. However I had no clue what happened in the rest of the episode because all I could think about was tomorrow. I fell asleep along side Tar-Heel and waited for my day tomorrow with Nathan.

**Hope you all liked it! Don't forget to review please! **

**I know the whole dog thing was kind of random, but it is my favorite type of breed and he will be important later. You'll see why! I also named him Tar-Heel because that is my favorite school! Go UNC!**


	11. A Perfect Date Ending Horribly

"Call if you need anything," Elizabeth said before walking through the front door. She was taking grandpa and nanna to a small town about an hour away from here. The winters in Idaho were way too brutal, and the summers just got way too hot. So they decided that they might move here, which I was very happy about.

I waved to them as they backed out of the driveway, and then closed the door and locked it. The clock rang next to me, telling me that it was eleven o'clock. I only had one hour to get ready, it's a good thing that I already showered. I ran up the stairs, Tar-Heel following me. Elizabeth told me that the dog care person was coming at one, and if I were to go out I was to leave him in the backyard.

It took me about thirty minutes to figure out what to wear, but I finally decided. A pair of tight dark blue denims, and a black cami. When I was outside I had felt how warm it was and thought that a cami was perfect for this weather. I then put on a black pair of sandals and plugged my hair straightener in. My hair was naturally curly/wavy, and I only straightened it just so it wouldn't be too crazy. It only takes me about ten minutes max, so when I was finished with my long, wavy, blonde hair I moved onto make-up.

Why girls where so much is beyond me. All girls have natural beauty, why try and hide that with all this crap to make you look like plastic? I wear make-up, don't get me wrong. But I don't wear loads of it everyday, mostly just for special occasions. I put on my soft, black eyeliner, a small hint of blue eyeshadow and a simple line of tan lip stick.

By the time I was done, the doorbell rang. I think I am more nervous right now than I was for my first date with Conner. I walked down the stairs, trying to control my breathing. I took a long breath before opening the door, a smile immediately forming on my face.

"Hey," he greeted me.

"Hi," I said. "Come in," I motioned him inside. He walked past me and inside the house, I closed the door behind him.

Right when I had closed the door, Nathan had spun me around and pushed me against the door forcefully. His lips crashed onto mine and he darted his tongue into my mouth, his hands roaming up and down my sides. His touch sending a shiver throughout my whole body. I ran my hands through his hair as he moved his mouth to my neck and started nipping and sucking, probably making marks.

I let out a soft moan when he found my weak spot, and the mean guy that he is stayed there, making me let out numerous moans. God was it getting hot in here, I noticed that he was wearing his leather jacket and I pulled it off of his shoulders. He was wearing his usual attire, gray wife beater with baggy jeans. But god did he look hot in it.

He then returned to my mouth, our tongues dancing around each other. He pressed me harder against the door and I decided that I was going to have some fun. I put my hand on his knee and slowly made my way up his inner leg. His quite moans letting me know his satisfaction. My hand kept traveling up as his slowly started making its way down from my cheek and towards my chest.

We were both so close, but of course his stupid cell phone rang. Our lips and hands broke away, the moment clearly now gone, and we both groaned.

"Damn it," Nathan muttered before pulling his phone out of his jean pocket. He looked at his caller i.d. and let out another groan, "what the hell does she want?"

"Who is it?" I asked, my breathing a little uneven.

He looked at me with his amazing blue eyes, "Rachel."

I looked away and rolled my eyes, the moment was defiantly gone.

"Yeah?" I heard him ask.

I watched him, he was clearly aggravated, as was I.

"Look not today, i'll call you later," he hung up without another word.

I gave him a questioning look, "everything okay?"

"It's fine," he said before leaning down and giving me a quick kiss. "Ready?" He bent down and picked up his jacket that was on the floor.

"Yeah, let me just leave a note real quick." I wrote one for Elizabeth and that dog person before walking outside and locking the door with my keys.

I looked towards the driveway but didn't see Nathan, until I noticed that he was parked on the street in front of the house. Shit, I forgot that he has a death bike rather than a car.

I walked down the lawn and stood next to the bike, noticing I was there but not saying anything Nathan looked at me, "what's wrong?"

I stared at bike like it was a disease, "you sure you don't have any other type of transportation?" This will be the first time I ever rode on his bike.

He laughed, "yeah I'm sure." He handed me his helmet, "come on."

I took the helmet hesitantly, "I don't know."

He sighed before getting off the bike and standing in front of me. "Listen to me," he took his helmet from my hands and placed it on my head, "I'm not going to let anything happen to you. Okay?"

I scoffed, "that's not much comfort Nathan."

"Haley, do you trust me?"

I looked at him, our eyes locking. I nodded, "yes," I said in a whisper.

He smiled, "then you need to trust me when I say that I'm not going to let anything happen to you."

My eyes went to the ground, "okay."

"Okay," he climbed back on the bike and held out a hand for me.

I smiled and took it, he helped me onto the back of it. "Ready?" He called back.

"Yes." NO!

"Hold on tight!" He then started the bike with a kick, and I immediately wrapped my arms around his waist, holding on for dear life. I felt him laugh, and I wanted to know something before we left.

"Hey! How many girls have actually gotten off this thing alive?" I had to yell because of the engine.

He was silent for a couple of seconds, "none!"

"What!?" That was so not comforting.

He laughed, "chill. None because no girl has ever been on my bike before! Your the first!"

That should have made me really nervous right? It didn't, instead it made me feel incredibly safe. Nathan then kicked the kickstand up and we were flying down the street.

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"You okay?" Nathan asked me when he climbed off the bike.

"Yeah," I said taking his hand and also climbing off. "Where are we?" I looked around, not recognizing anything around us.

"About thirty minutes into Wilmington," he told me.

"Wilmington? How often do you come here?" It was about thirty minutes away from Tree Hill, so we were on his bike for a good hour. The time went by so fast though on a bike.

"Maybe once every couple weeks, just when I really need to get away." I nodded, I know what that feels like.

"So is this what you wanted to show me?" We were now standing in a parking lot next to a playground.

He laughed, "yes Haley I wanted to take you about 60 miles away just to show you a playground."

I shrugged, "you never know. You could have taken me out here to kill me. Bury my body under the monkey bars."

He smiled, "now why would I ever want to do that?" He then looped his arm around my waist and brought my lips to his. It was soft, caring, and amazing. We stood like that, kissing one another, for a couple of minutes. I realized that they were kids around and pulled away.

"We're being watched by angry mothers," I told him.

He turned around, there were three mothers sitting on a bench glaring at us. He turned back around, "they're just jealous of you."

I swatted his chest, "you're disgusting."

He laughed and then threw his arm around my shoulder and started walking me towards the woods. Now I was really confused.

"Oh great Nathan, make them think that were going into the woods to have sex. That's wonderful," I teased him.

He laughed before yelling, "god I so want you Haley James! Lets go into the woods and have endless sex!"

"Nathan!" I turned around to see the mothers ushering their kids away from us and to their cars. "I can not believe you said that!" I hit him on the shoulder.

Nathan laughed, "they'll get over it."

"You're such an ass," I teased him.

He leaned down and whispered in my ear, "yeah but I'm your ass."

I smiled before hanging back a bit and jumping onto his back. He laughed and leaned forward from the sudden weight on his back but then straightened up and grabbed my 

legs for support.

"Because of that comment, you get to carry me," I said to him.

He laughed as we entered the woods, where the hell were we going?

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"Okay, my backs hurts," Nathan said. 

I slid off of him, "I don't way that much do I?"

He turned to me a smile on his face, "no, but walking for about an hour with someone on my back, it's gonna hurt eventually."

I laughed, "so are we there yet?"

"Almost," he then started walking again.

"Almost? Come on!"

He laughed, "patience girl."

"I'm sorry, but I'm just curious."

"Believe me, this will be worth it."

"It better be," I said.

He laughed as we kept on walking through the middle of the woods. I was a little curious to say the least. About ten minutes of walking I heard a sound that sounded like running water. As we got closer I realized that it was a lot of water, it even sounded like a waterfall.

Five minutes later Nathan stopped and pushed back a large branch for me. I stepped past him and saw a bridge, a very old wooden bridge.

I looked at Nathan and he smiled, "it's okay," as if sensing my questions if the bridge was safe. He took my hand and we made our way across the bridge. We stopped in the middle and turned towards the waterfall.

It was absolutely gorgeous. The bridge was very, very far up from the flowing water beneath us, and the waterfall wasn't very big but it was still incredible. I could feel Nathan's gaze on me, but I couldn't bring myself away from the amazing view in front of me. I was a sucker for these kind of things.

"So what do you think?" Nathan asked me a couple of minutes later.

"I think, this place in unbelievable." I said looking all round me.

"You should see it at sunset, the sun sets right behind the waterfall. It amazing."

"How did you find this place?" I asked turning to him.

"Well," he said sitting down, his hand grabbing mine and bringing me down with him. "I got into a fight with my mom one day, got on my bike and drove here. When I got to the playground there were a bunch of kids there, and I just couldn't handle the noise so I walked over to the woods and just kept walking." I was seating between lis legs now and he was running his hands up and down my bare arms.

I didn't say anything, we both just sat there in silence listening to the water and enjoying being in each other's arms. We sat there for about an hour or even two, talking and joking at some points but mostly just being in complete content.

My eyes were about to close when I heard Nathan's voice in my ear, "hey. It's gonna get dark soon, lets go."

I nodded and grabbed his hand as he helped me up, and we started our long way back. It didn't take long for us to get back, this time I wasn't slowing Nathan down by being on his back.

We got back to the playground, and I started walking to his bike but he called me back.

"Let's rest for a couple minutes," he said sitting down in one of the swings. I nodded and walked over to him, taking the swing next to him.

We sat there in silence for a moment before I said, "can I ask you something?"

He looked at me, "yeah."

I have to choose my words carefully, "back there you said you got in a fight with your mom. I think that's the first time I have ever heard you talk about you parents."

"Yeah, and?" He asked.

"I was just wondering, do you get along with your them?"

He sighed, "not... not really. My dad left about seven years ago and ever since then my mom has been a addict ever since."

"Oh," stupid Haley!

"Guess both of our families are dysfunctional," he said in an amused voice.

"Clearly, it's like they need to have all the attention on them or they will go crazy."

Nathan smiled, "exactly. If they don't get what they want they'll end over dosing on painkillers."

"Or they end up slapping you," I chimed in.

"Parents suck," Nathan said.

"Pretty much."

"That's why I got emancipated," that shocked me.

"Your emancipated?"

He nodded, "for two years now."

"But that night, at your house I thought that was your moms house?"

He shook his head, "you assumed."

"Wow, you live by yourself?"

"Yep."

"How do you pay for rent, and food?"

"My dad, he feels guilty for leaving me and sends me a thousand dollars ever two months."

"Oh man, what does your dad do?"

"I'm not exactly sure, but I think it has something to do with the mob," he said with a small laugh.

My eyes grew, "wow."

He laughed, "yeah wow."

We stayed silent for a couple more minutes before Nathan got up, "you want to head out?"

No, "sure."

We walked over to his bike, Nathan handing me his helmet and he also shrugged off his jacket.

"Here, I noticed you were shivering," he said holding out his jacket to me. I smiled and took it, putting my helmet on first then sliding into his very large warm jacket.

"Thank-you," I said to him.

He smiled before climbing onto his bike and holding out his hand to me, "lets go James."

I climbed onto his bike and wrapped my arms around him, snuggling close to him. He started his bike and we flew down the road, heading back to reality.

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Nathan slowed to a stop as the light turned red. I realized we were back in Tree Hill, probably about ten minutes away from the house. But I really did not want to go back.

"Nathan?" I yelled so he could here me.

He turned his head slightly toward me, hie eyes still on the stoplight, "yeah?"

"I don't want go home yet!"

He didn't say anything, just turned his head back to the front. The light turned green and Nathan swerved past the cars that were in front of him and all of a sudden made a sharp turn at the intersection and turned onto another road. Clearly he was not taking me home yet.

It took about five minutes and we were stopped in front of an apartment house, Nathan's.

We got off the bike, and silently made our way inside.

"Do you want anything? Water, food?" He asked throwing his jacket on the chair. His apartment wasn't very big, but it was very homey. There was a small kitchen, then a nice family room. Nathan even had a plasma TV on the wall. There was a hallway where the bedroom and bathroom were located.

"Um, water is fine. Thanks," I said as I took a seat on the couch and turned on the TV. Not surprised that ESPN was on, I scanned through the channels.

Nathan stepped over the couch and took a seat next to me, handing me the water bottle.

"So did you have fun today?" He asked after a moment of silence.

I smiled and looked at him, "I did. Thank-you for showing me that beautiful place."

He nodded, taking a sip of his own water. He turned his attention back onto the TV, "so how do you think UNC will do tomorrow?"

"They'll have a tough game, but they'll pull through. What about Duke, think they can handle West Virginia?"

"Sure, West Virginia doesn't stand a chance."

I smiled, and also turned my attention to the TV. We watched it for about five minutes when Nathan spoke up, "are you hungry?"

I looked down at my stomach, it has been begging for food all day. "Yeah, I am."

Nathan jumped up and hopped over the couch, heading towards the kitchen. I laughed and followed him.

"All right let's see what we have here," he said looking through his fridge. "We have a lean cuisine meal, a box of pudding, and an apple."

"Nathan! That's all you have in your fridge?" 

He looked at me innocently, "I haven't had time to go grocery shopping."

I shook my head, a smile on my face. I walked over to his cabinets, seeing if anything he had in there was maybe even edible.

"We could just order something," I heard Nathan suggest.

That's when I saw it. A huge smile came over my face as I grabbed it and closed the cabinet door. "There's no need, we have mac n' cheese!"

Nathan looked at me with amusement, "are you serious? Haley I think I stole that from some ten year old."

"Well seeing as your never going to eat it, we might as well get rid of it if I'm here. Now where are your pots?" I asked looking around.

"Here," he said opening another cabinet and pulling out a pot and handing it to me.

"Thank-you," I filled it with water and put it on his stove. I smiled and walked over to him, standing in front of him.

He smirked down at me, "you do know mac n' cheese is for like five year olds?"

I gasped, "dude it's food of the gods."

He laughed and grabbed me by the waist and setting me on the counter, a small shriek escaping from my mouth.

His head was inched from mine, "yeah if those gods are five year olds."

The distance closed between us, the kiss was slow and longing at first. He then traced his tongue around my bottom lip, and was soon in my mouth exploring. I wrapped my arms around his neck, playing with the small hairs on the nape of his neck. His hands ran up and down my sides, and along my legs. 

The way he made me feel, was just amazing. Whenever he was around, Conner, Elizabeth, dad, it all just washed away and I could be well, me. He was never like this first, at the beginning all he wanted was sex. But eventually we started talking, and he liked that. There was this one time, we were at another party, he had snatched me and pulled me into a room. We started kissing, and made it over to the bed. It took a lot of will power, but I pulled away from him. He was surprised to say the least, and I was sort of scared at was he was going to say. But I spoke first, I told him that I wanted to get to know him before I slept with him again. He was shocked, very shocked. But eventually he did talk to me, I learned his favorite color was blue, his favorite singer was EMINEM, and that loved prime rib. What surprised me more was after I had asked some questions, he asked me questions. We didn't have sex that night, but we did stay in that room and talk the whole night.

I moaned as Nathan sucked on my weak spot, and I ran my hands through his amazing hair. Sure it was short, but god did it do wonders to me.

"Your so beautiful," he said in a muffled voice.

I lost all control, I ripped off his shirt and threw it behind me. His skin was hot under my touch, I ran my hands up and down his chest loving the feeling. He then tugged at me shirt and I raised my arms. We never broke our lips as he discarded my shirt. He then wrapped his arms around my waist, and I wrapped my arms around his torso. I then felt him pick me up, our lips never breaking. I was placed down gently onto his couch and he climbed on top of me. Then did our lips break apart, and we stared into each others eyes. His ocean blue ones were now dark, wanting and needing. His hand reached down and started unzipping my jeans, I doing this same with his. Our jeans were almost about off when a knock on his door interrupted us.

"Nathan? Are you home?" What the hell was this bitch doing here?

I stared up at Nathan in horror, his own face not pleased at all that the whore had disturbed us.

"Nathan? I know you're in there. Your bikes outside!"

"Nathan, she can't know I'm here," I whispered pulling away from him, climbing off this couch. I zipped my pants back up, and ran over to where my shirt lie.

"The bathroom, lock the door," Nathan said.

I ran to the bathroom and quietly shut the door, pressing my ear up against it.

"What the hell are you doing here Rachel?" Nathan asked once he had opened the door.

She walked in, with a smirk on her face. "I was just wondering what you were up to."

"Are you checking up on me now?" Nathan asked slamming the door shut.

"No, just wondering. When I called you seemed a little breathless."

"I had just gotten back from a run," Nathan lied.

"Oh." She turned around and surveyed the room, "what are you making?"

"What?"

"The boiling water, what are you making?"

"Oh uh, macaroni and cheese."

Rachel laughed, "wow Nathan the real badass."

"Are you criticizing the way I eat?

"No, just never thought that the bad-boy of Tree Hill would ever eat..." however Rachel was interrupted.

"How about you try emancipating from your rich parents and fending for yourself, Rachel. Then let's see what you eat, when you barely have any money," Nathan shot back.

"Okay, I'm sorry Nathan. You're right, sorry."

"Whatever," Nathan said.

"So, can I join you?"

Nathan looked at her, "no."

"Why not? You could use the company."

"What I could use is some peace and quite from you, god your like cancer, you can't get rid of it."

Rachel looked beyond angry, "sorry I'm such a burden on you."

"Apology not accepted, now get the hell out." Nathan walked over to the door and opened it for her.

Rachel looked at him for a couple seconds, "is she here?"

I gulped, shit!

"Is who here?" Nathan asked clearly annoyed she had not left yet.

"You know who, Haley."

"Haley? Haley who?"

Rachel scoffed, "Haley James jackass. You know the girl you are screwing!"

"I don't know what the hell you are talking about, but what the hell makes you think I would touch Conner Jacobs slut of a girlfriend?"

That hurt, that hurt right in the heart.

"Whatever Nathan, I'm out of here."

"Bout time," Nathan said before slamming the door the second she was through it. He let out a huge sigh and ran his hands over his face.

I opened the door when I heard the voices had stopped, my shirt now on. I stepped out of the bathroom and stared at Nathan. He looked up at me when he heard the door open. "I should go," I said walking to the door.

"Haley, what I said..."

"Don't," I held up my hand, "just don't."

"I was just telling her what I thought you wanted me to say."

"She knows Nathan! She knows about you and me! That's why I have been avoiding you, because if I don't then she'll tell Conner about us. I can't let that happen."

"Why not?"

I looked at him with shock, "you know why," I said in a whisper.

"No, actually I don't Haley. Why do you have to stay with that priss?"

"Because I love him," I said in a whisper again.

"Love him enough to break his heart by sneaking around with his worst enemy?"

I closed my eyes, when did this get so complicated?

"You're right, I can't do it anymore."

"Haley..," Nathan said with relief in his voice. It broke my heart, but I took a step back away from him.

"I can't... this thing between us. It has to stop." I looked up into his eyes, and it broke my heart all over again.

Nathan's jaw tightened, "why do you always have to protect him Haley?"

"What?" I managed to say.

"Why do you always have to take the easy way out? Why do you always choose him? What the hell does he have that I don't?"

I was almost in tears, "he loves me Nathan. I love him, and we belong together. It's as simple as that."

"I want you to look me in the eyes and tell me that I mean nothing to you, tell me that you truly want Conner and not me."

I was fighting to hold the tears back. I gained my composure and looked into his now cold, hard eyes as they bore into me.

Tears started flowing from my eyes, "good-bye Nathan." I opened the door and ran down the stairs and towards the streets. I ran as fast as I could, the tears streaking down my face. When I realized that I couldn't walk all the way home I decided that I was going to call the one person who could maybe even understand one ounce f this. I pulled out my cell phone, trying to stop the sobs.

I had finally realized why everything between Nathan and I were so complicated, it was because I had fallen for him. I had developed strong feelings for him, in just a few short months. With Conner it took me almost a year to finally see that I liked him even remotely a lot.

I searched through my contacts pressing the send button, thanking god when he picked up on the second ring.

"Hey Hales, boy am I glad to see you called. My parents have been crazy trying to make sure..."

"Jake!" I choked out through his rant.

"Haley what's wrong?" He asked now very concerned.

"I'll tell you everything later, but please just come and take me home. I need you!"

Haley didn't know it then, but it wasn't Jake, or Brooke or Lucas, and not even Conner that she needed. It was the raven haired outsider that she had just left heartbroken, that's who she really needed.

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**There you guys go! Btw, I did that last line in third person for a reason! Hope you all liked it, please don't forget to review!!**


	12. Haley James Meets Heartbreak

"How long has it been going on?" Jake asked after handing me the ginger ale. We had just gotten back to the house, the whole ride I told Jake about me and Nathan. He was surprised, very surprised. He told me that he sort of sensed something going on though, he noticed that Nathan acted a little too friendly with me sometimes.

I sniffed and looked up at him, "about ten months."

"Wow, um wow." Jake said speechless.

I let out a bitter laugh, "yeah."

"And Rachel found out about you guys, that's what caused you know you-calling-me and stuff?" He asked.

I nodded, "she told me about two weeks ago that I have to stay away from him or else she would tell Conner."

"But you didn't stay away from him?"

I shook my head.

"So if you couldn't stay away from him, then why haven't you ended things with Conner?"

I looked at him with surprise, "because I love Conner, Jake. I'm not going to end an almost two year relationship for some guy that I was just having a fling with."

"Haley," he said in a serious tone, moving on the edge of his seat. "If it was just a fling, then why were you bawling your eyes out when I picked you up?"

I closed me eyes, and more tears started to fall. "Jake, I can't be with him! This wasn't supposed to happen." I put my head in my hands.

Jake brought his hands onto my knees, "what? What wasn't supposed to happen Haley?"

I didn't answer him, I couldn't answer him. I heard the door open downstairs and the voices of my family walking in.

"I should probably head out," Jake said standing up.

I wiped the tears away and stood up also, Jake brought me into his arms. More tears wanted to fall, but I held them back. Jake didn't need a soaking shirt.

"Your gonna be okay Hales, you'll get through this." He pulled away from me, his arms now on my shoulders, "whatever happens,with Nathan or Conner, know that I will always be here for you, okay?"

I smiled, and nodded.

"Okay, I'll see you later," he placed a kiss on my forehead.

"Bye Jake, thank-you again for saving me," I said before he walked out of the door.

Jake turned around, "one last question."

"What is it?"

"Why did you call me and not Lucas. I mean I'm glad you called, but I was just thinking that you know Lucas would probably be a better person to help you through this."

I smiled faintly, "your one of my best friends Jake, you were the first person I thought of."

Jake smiled and nodded, "just because you sort of well you know, cheated on Conner, I know why you did it. I don't have to remind you why I left Nikki right?"

"No," I said quickly, "no."

Jake laughed, "I love you know matter what James, and I won't say a word."

I smiled, "thank you Jake."

He nodded and walked through the door, Elizabeth replacing his previous spot.

"What was Jake doing here?" She asked.

I shook my head, "just stopped by. How was the town?"

She smiled, "good. Your grandparents really liked it there."

That made me smile, "good."

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"So then she was like, 'and I totally banged him till his head burst' and then I was like 'please bitch, like he would even look at you' and then..."

"Brooke!" I stopped her story, "just get to the point."

"Geesh Tutor Girl, not having Conner around for a whole week has made you a little cranky," Brooke said with a small frown on her face.

"No, I just don't know if I can handle another one of your long, amazing, girl fight stories."

"Well, fine then. I will just go and find Lucas, him hearing me getting into a girl fight totally turns him on," she winked at me.

"To much information," I muttered as Brooke skipped through the hallways.

"What information?" I smiled as I heard the voice ask from behind me. I put my binder into my locker and turned around, jumping into his arms.

"I missed you," I said into his ear softly.

"I missed you too baby, I missed you so much," Conner pulled away from me, still holding me up around the waist, and brought his lips to mine.

"Okay children, lets keep this 'G' rated please," Peyton said, coming up with Jake.

I laughed as Conner put me back on the floor, "what's up skinny? Hey Jake," him and Jake did this handshake as Peyton and I hugged. Break was over, and this was the first time I was seeing everyone since they got back. Brooke picked me up this morning, so I got her whole trip in the car. Hopefully Peyton's will be a little more, not so bitchy.

"Hey girlie, how was Tree Hill while I was away? Anything juicy happen?" She asked me pulling away and leaning against the lockers.

"Nope," I too leant against the lockers, "pretty boring in Tree Hill."

She laughed, "of course Brooke wasn't here, nothing could happen."

We laughed as Jake and Conner walked up to us. "So what did you, Jake and Lucas do?" Conner asked.

Jake and I looked at each other, "nothing," we said in unison.

Conner and Peyton gave us weird glances, Lucas and Brooke walked up, having impeccable timing.

"You guys will so not believe this!" Brooke said more to Peyton and I. The guys immediately started their own conversation.

"B. Davis, you have been back in town for a day, how the hell do you have the gossip already?" Peyton asked our friend.

"Don't be hatin, any way guess who got pregnant?" When we gave her confused looks she continued, "Melissa Gorge!"

"No way!" Peyton yelled.

"Way! And supposedly the rumor is the Greg Mason is the father!"

"Greg Mason? You mean the head of the Academic Team?" I asked surprised.

"That's why it makes this so much juicier!" Brooke screamed.

"Hey Nate!" My head shot up, and the sight before me just made me sick. Nathan was walking towards us, me, with Rachel under his arm. A huge smile on her face, a smile that said 'I won!'.

I turned towards my locker, pretending like I was putting books in it while everyone talked to him and I guess his girlfriend. Conner came up from behind me and leant against he locker next to mine.

"So, dinner Friday?"

I smiled and turned to him, "sounds perfect."

"I was thinking that maybe we should sort of start over?"

I scrunched my face together, "start over? Like what they do in movies 'Hi my name is Haley, we've been dating the past two years but some bad things happened so lets pretend like we don't even know each other'?"

Conner laughed, "no! But I don't know maybe take a step back? The past couple of weeks have been a little strained between us, and I don't know if it's me or you but I do know that I want to get back to being 'us' again. What do you say?"

"I would love that."

He smiled, his perfect teeth showing.

"How about you Haley?" I turned my head at the mention of my name, automatically regretting it. Rachel. I tried to focus all my attention on her and the not the raven haired male standing next to her, who by the way I felt his eyes boring into the back of me this whole time!

"I'm sorry?"

"Brooke just came up with a great idea, she thinks we should get new uniforms. What do you say?" She asked with sweet innocence in her voice.

"Sure, whatever." I shot a look at Conner, sending a plea to get me out of here.

He understood, "sorry guys, but Haley and I have class." He wrapped his arm around my waist, and started guiding me away. I kept my eyes on the floor the whole time, but I felt his eyes on me till we turned the corner.

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"Nathan and Rachel? I for sure, did not see that coming," Peyton said before popping a cracker into her mouth.

"Oh neither did I Goldilocks, but the world is a strange place," Brooke said.

"Okay, can we stop talking about Nathan and his girlfriend for like five seconds please?" Conner begged.

"Yeah, I'm sure there are better topics to talk about," I added. I really did not want to hear another word about Nathan or his...

"Hey guys!" What the fuck!?

"Oh... hey Rachel?" Brooke said, the same look of confusion on her face as ours.

"Nathan and I were just wondering if we could sit here," she said, her eyes shooting to mine. Was she doing this on purpose?

"We can go somewhere else Rachel," a very uncomfortable Nathan said.

"Yeah there's really not a lot of room here," Conner added.

"Don't worry about it, of course you guys can sit here," the all mighty saint Lucas said.

I took a deep breath as Nathan sat across from me, my eyes burning a hole into my lunch.

"Um Haley, maybe we should start our photo project now. You never know when we will have another chance to do it," I shot my head up to Jake. No words could describe how much I love him right now.

"Yeah...your... your probably right," I started gathering up my lunch.

"Oh, you're leaving?" Rachel asked.

I looked at her, Nathan in my line of vision now. "Yeah... project... big," I don't even think I was speaking english, but I really did not care as I darted towards the entrance with Jake. We closed the doors behind us, I turned to Jake and hugged him. "Thank you so much!"

He pulled away, "I knew that was hard for you, and Conner was noticing that you were a little on edge."

I closed my eyes, only to reopen them when the door opened again. Peyton?

"Hey," she turned to Jake, "you left your book."

"Oh thank you," he grabbed it and leant in for a kiss but Peyton pulled away.

"Okay, now tell me what the hell is going on," she said in a stern voice.

Jake and I shared confused glances, "what are you talking about babe?"

"Jake, you don't even take photography!"

I gulped, as Jake looked at the floor shamelessly.

"Peyton, don't be mad. This is my fault," I said.

"Fault? What is going on?"

"I can't tell you, but it's taken care of. That's all you need to know."

"Haley," she said in a dejected voice, "I'm your best friend, you can't tell me but you can tell my boyfriend?"

"No! Peyton you are my best friend, but this isn't even worth knowing. Trust me?"

Peyton looked between the two of us, "it better not be anything."

Jake smiled before placing his arms on her shoulders, "it's not! Now go back to the table and put a cute smile on your face."

Peyton smiled before kissing him and waving bye to both of us. Jake and I let out sighs of relief, "that was close."

"Too close, god I hate Rachel! You know she was doing that on purpose!" I screamed out. I could seriously walk back out there and strangle the girls neck.

"Doing what on purpose?"

I shot him an 'you know what' look, "Jake, she was flaunting him in front of me like he's a trophy and she won the prize!"

"Well she sort of did..." Jake spoke out before I whacked him in the shoulder.

"Nathan is not some prize," we started walking back, "and it's not like he's with her because he wants to be..." I shut my mouth once I realized what I had said.

Jake looked at me, "Haley, from what you have told me, you hurt him, you hurt yourself. Nathan is moving on, just like you are trying to reconcile with Conner. Why are you trying to make this more of a big deal? It was just a fling right? But if you keep talking like this, I'm gonna start to wonder maybe you care about Nathan more than you have lead me to believe."

We had stopped walking by that point, we stood in the middle of the hallway. I stared up at Jake, he had a knowing look on his face that said 'what I just said is right'.

"I love Conner, you know that?" Jake nodded, "but with Nathan...it's...it's different. When I'm with Conner I feel like I have to act like the perfect girlfriend, the one who gives him kisses all the time, hangs onto his every word, or jumps into his arms every time I see him. But when I'm with Nathan," the thought brought a smile to my face, "he makes me feel alive. Like he's the one that will make everything okay, even though he's dangerous. I feel more safe in his arms then in Conner's, which is horrible I know, but I can't help..." Jake interrupted my rambling.

"Haley, I just have one question for you." I nodded and he continued, "I want you to close your eyes."

I laughed, "Jake that's not a question."

He smiled, "just close them."

I obliged and closed my eyelids, "okay now what?"

"I want you to think of your favorite place in the whole world, the beach, the mountains, your room," we both laughed, "got it?"

"Yeah."

"Now, I want you to look to your left in your head. Who do you see?"

After a couple seconds, I opened my eyes slowly, my breath was short, and now I was shaking.

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"Nathan! Nathan!" He turned around and I smiled.

He waited till I reached him, "what do you want?"

I was taken back by his sharp tone but dismissed it, "how um... how are you?"

"I'm fine, are we done?"

I narrowed my eyes slightly in confusion, "no... I wanted to talk to you... the other night..." Nathan interrupted me.

"The other night was a mistake, and you're right. You and me...it's done."

"What?" I said softly under my breath.

"What? What Haley? What the hell do you want from me? I agree to your fucking terms, I came to you when you needed me, I was there when your punk wasn't. What the hell was I to you? The guy you wanted to screw when life got tough?" He voice rose a little louder.

"Nathan! Please keep your voice down." I looked around, to make sure no one who was walking by heard him. They hadn't.

Nathan looked at me with complete disbelief, "you know what. I'm glad this thing between us is done, you hanging around me just made me look bad."

"You don't mean that," I said with hurt in my voice.

"Believe me, I do. Why don't you go run off with your bitch, go and play house. Pretend like your the perfect couple, go and screw everyone over while you're doing it. I for one, know you're a pro at screwing people over."

"Why are you being so..."

"Like what Haley? Why am I being mean? Because that's the way life is, it's a bitch Haley, and people are mean. Get over it, like I got over you." He turned around and walked away, as I stood there speechless. I tried so hard to hold the tears back, but my plan wasn't really working. Once my legs started working again, I walked over to my car and climbed in. Once the door was closed, the tears fell freely as I sobbed.

I saw Nathan. When Jake told me to close my eyes, I saw him. Not Conner, not my boyfriend but Nathan. And I can't believe I was willing to throw away my relationship with Conner for that jack-ass! How could I have been so stupid? He never cared for me, all he wanted was the sex.

But why did he go along with it for so long? Did he like me calling him in the middle of the night, or our secret make-out sessions, the talks that we had? Cause I for sure loved them, was he just bored with his life and I was his entertainment? Why the hell am I crying over this bastard?!

I'll tell you Haley! Probably because you want to be with him more than Conner, but he just made it clear that he wants nothing to do with you. Once the tears had slowed down, I turned the car on and pulled out of the parking space.

The last thing I saw leaving the parking lot, was Nathan and Rachel kissing against his bike. That image just brought a new batch of unwanted tears. He seemed to be the only one who could do that to me.

_"Brooke, what am I doing here?" I asked the girl next to me. _

_"Oh come on, Tutor- Girl! Have some fun, live a little!" We were currently at Bane's house, at another high school party. People were everywhere, people were here that didn't even attend Tree Hill High. They're either drunk, stoned, or sober but pretending like they are drunk or high. Man I really wish Conner was here right now. He had to attend some stupid business dinner with hid dad, leaving me alone with Brooke, Peyton, and Lucas. Jake had to work, so Peyton knew what I was going through._

_"Okay, the line is longer than route 66. Why do so many have to pee, half the people are passed out!" Peyton said coming back from her trip to the bathroom._

_"Well P. Sawyer, just don't drink anything for the rest of the night. That way you won't have to go to the bathroom again." Brooke said before taking a sip of her own drink._

_"I didn't even get to go!" She screamed back._

_I laughed, "come on Peyton I'll go with you. Bane has a bathroom upstairs."_

_"I'm gonna go find Lucas, when you two are done come find me and we'll dance!" Brooke went the other direction in her search for Lucas._

_"Let's go James before I my bladder explodes!" Peyton grabbed my hand and started dragging me through the crowd. We reached the stairs, and she let me go first so I could show her the way to the bathroom. We reached the top of the stairs and I showed her the hallway, the bathroom at the very end. I told her I would wait for her at the banister._

_I turned around and walked over to the banister, resting my elbows against it, scanning the family room at all the drunk dancing people. Why the hell would a girl wear a leather skirt to a party? That's just asking for trouble, and do drink also?! What the hell are girls thinking these days? What is wrong with a simple pair of tight jeans, a cute top that's not too revealing, and a nice hairdo? I am perfectly fine with my appearance, why can't they be?_

_My thoughts were cut off when I saw four guys enter the room, my breath catching in my throat. Nathan Scott entered the room, with three of his buddies behind him. Nathan was talking to Bane, which confused me because I had no idea Bane was even friends with Nathan. It had been a week since I had my little run-in with him, and I was happy that I hadn't seen him. But god did he look good wearing just jeans and a wife-beater._

_As if sensing my eyes roaming him, he looked up from Bane and straight at me. I gasped, but didn't look away. I couldn't, his eyes were memorizing. Then his lips formed into a smirk, and for some reason my cheeks grew red._

_"Hey," I jumped at Peyton sudden appearance. "Sorry didn't mean to scare you."_

_I laughed, "it's... it's okay. You done?"_

_"Yeah... but um I forgot that Jake was going to call me tonight and I left my phone in my car. Would you hate me if I left you here and went to call him? I would be gone for about twenty minutes?"_

_"Yes Peyton, go call your boyfriend. I'll be here when you get back."_

_"Thanks Hales," she turned around and headed for the stairs._

_I turned back to the crowd below me, my eyes traveling back to where he was supposed to be except he wasn't. I then did something I never thought I would do. I started looking for Nathan Scott. He was like a drug, take one wiff and you're addicted. _

_"Looking for me?" I shot my head to the side, Nathan was talking to me._

_I let out a nervous laugh, "no, why would I do that?"_

_He smirked again, "you tell me." He then walked next to me and leant against the banister, still looking at me._

_"So," I wanted to change the subject, "what are you doing here?"_

_"I'm not allowed to come to a party? What did your boy make up that rule?"_

_"No, I just never see you at parties, that's all."_

_"I don't do high school parties, that's why."_

_"You're here now," I pointed out to him._

_"I'm here for business."_

_"What kind of business?" Does he have a job?_

_"Business that doesn't concern you."_

_"Oh. Okay I get it, you know we barely know each other and I highly doubt that your are going to tell me what you and your friends do which you know I understand I wouldn't tell somebody..."_

_"Do you always ramble when you're nervous?" He asked interrupting me._

_"I am not nervous," that was a lie._

_Nathan laughed, "so where's your boyfriend?"_

_"Not here," I answered him shortly._

_"Really?" He then turned his body towards me and took a step forward. What is he doing? "So he wouldn't be able to see us right now talking?"_

_"No he wouldn't. Why does that matter though? There's nothing going on between us for him to see."_

_He took another step forward, "of course not. But I do have a confession to make."_

_"What?"_

_"I haven't stopped thinking about you since our meeting a couple days ago," he said whispering in my face with his husky voice._

_My chest was rising and falling very heavily, "really?"_

_His smirk grew wider, "really." He took another step closer, the distance between us slowly decreasing along with my senses._

_"Haley?" I turned around to meet the confused face of Peyton standing there._

_"Peyton," I said with relief in my voice, "hey, you're back."_

_"Yeah I am, am I interrupting something?"_

_"Yeah you are, why don't you run off with those chicken legs of your and leave your friend to me," Nathan said with anger and annoyance in his voice._

_Peyton shot me a look, a look that said she was scared for my life._

_"Um," I turned back to Nathan, "I have to go."_

_His eyes returned to mine, "Haley?" I heard Peyton say from behind me._

_"Bye," I whispered to him before turning around and walking downstairs with Peyton._

_"What the hell was that about?" Peyton asked._

_"What?"_

_"Since when did you and Nathan Scott suddenly become hot and heavy?" She asked grabbing my arm making me stop._

_"What are you talking about Peyton?"_

_"Haley, he was practically shoving his tongue down your throat."_

_I scoffed, "no he wasn't."_

_"He was about to!" She shouted._

_"Why are you making a big deal about this? It was just small talk."_

_"Small talk huh?"_

_"Yes," I said again. What is her problem?_

_"If it was just small talk, then why the hell is Nathan Scott staring at you like he wants to have sex with you right now?"_

_I gave her a confused look and turned around. Nathan Scott was indeed boring his blue eyes into me. His friend was talking to him, but from what it looked like Nathan wasn't paying attention._

_"Be careful around him Haley," I turned back around to Peyton._

_"Peyton, we were just talking!"_

_"I know, I know. I guess I was just a little worried about seeing you and Nathan Scott talking together. I've heard some pretty crazy things about him, and just seeing you talking to him really scared me."_

_I sighed, "Peyton, don't worry. Believe me, that is the last time I will probably ever talk to Nathan Scott again."_

_But apart of me, really wished that statement wasn't true._

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**Hey guys! Hope you liked this chapter! So is anyone else really sad that OTH isn't on? I am seriously depressed :( But only about three or four more weeks left! Anyway, please review!**


	13. Weight Of The World

**Thanks Amanda for making me hurry up and get this chapter out! Haha just your question and eagerness inspired me to get this chapter out! Enjoy!**

**Oh and because I wanted to get this chapter out, please ignore the mistakes! Thanks guys!**

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"And that's why the fruit tastes the sweetest," Mrs. Baker said. The class had finally finished the book _Twilight _and now we were all talking about the ending of the great love story.

"So even though Bella could have lost her life, she still stayed with him?" Tammy questioned.

"Yes," Mrs. Baker answered, "class don't you see? Love comes with so many obstacles, and even though Bella and Edward's love was forbidden and could lead to the ultimate tragedy, they looked past that and found that noting could tear them apart."

"It just doesn't make sense, even though Edward seems like the most amazing, romantic, caring, spectacular guy ever. He's still dangerous! Doesn't Bella see that?" Another girl in the class asked.

"Of course she does," this time it was my turn to defend the couple, "but it doesn't matter who he is. As long as their love for one another it strong, and they vow to protect one another that's all they need. Relationships always have danger in them, theirs is just more apparent. But that doesn't stop them, they keep fighting because they know that the other is worth it."

I looked at Mrs. Baker, she was smiling at me. It seems like I was the only one who actually understood the love between the vampire and human. Mrs. Baker then told us what our next book would be, but I wasn't really listening as my thoughts went to the boy sitting just behind me. It was hard before, concentrating on the class and not him, but now it was even harder. And the fact that I could feel his eyes burning a hole in the back of my head didn't help much.

Thankfully the bell rang,signaling class was over. I packed up slowly, knowing that he would be out the door in a flash. I felt someone hovering over me and looked up to see a smiling Brooke.

"Hey girlie," she said in a way too chipper tone.

"Hey yourself," I slung my bag over my shoulder and we made our way out of the classroom.

"So what's on the agenda for this weekend?" The halls were packed with people and I tried not to bump into anyone, knowing me I would probably just end up flat on my face or my butt.

"I don't know, I was going to talk to Conner later..."

Brooke grabbed my elbow forcing me to stop in the middle of the hallway, "is everything okay between you two?"

I looked at her questioningly, "why wouldn't it be?"

She shrugged, "I don't know. Ever since Luke's party, you two have seem kind of on edge. The sex is okay right?"

I swatted her arm, "Brooke!" I hissed at her. "How many times do I have to tell you? Conner and I aren't having sex!" I whispered, not wanting to the whole school to find out my lack of intimacy with my boyfriend of two years.

"Relax Hales, it was a joke," she said as we started moving again.

I rolled my eyes, "it wasn't very funny."

"Yeah it wasn't very funny for you to hit my arm either," she started rubbing her hand up and down her arm.

"Do you want me to kiss it and make it better?" I asked teasingly as we reached my locker.

"Haley," she whined out, "how many times do I have to tell you. I'm not gay," she whispered before jumping back before I could hit her again. She laughed as she walked down the hallway to her next class. I gathered my books, smiling, and went off in the direction of my next period.

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

Two weeks. Two more long weeks until Christmas Break. Two more weeks left of christmas shopping, and I haven't even started yet. Wonderful! Brooke and Peyton presents will take about a week, along with Conners. I always make Luke and Jake something special, and I buy Elizabeth the first slutty think that I see. Hopefully that will be enough time. Hopefully!

"Hey you," a voice said through my hair. I turned my head to the side and smiled up at Conner. He looked extra hot today. It was the first basketball game since the end of Thanksgiving, and the first game that Nathan will be playing. Anyway, the guys all had to dress up for the away game, along with the cheerleaders dressing in their uniforms.

"Hi," I gave him a quick peck on the lips before packing up all my books and into my bag-pack.

"Not leaving because of me are you?" Conner asked with a smile.

I pretended to think about it, "I guess I'm just really sick of you."

Conner laughed and clutched at his heart with mock hurt, "ouch James."

I laughed, "so, you pumped for the game tonight?"

Conner sighed, his attitude changing. "I guess, a little nervous."

"Why?" Conner is never nervous for games, ever!

"I don't know, maybe just because it's the first game after that practice a couple weeks ago. I just really want to show Whitey that I deserve to have that 'C'. I just want to be on top again, and playing at the top of my game is the only way I can think of."

I leaned in towards him, "maybe Whitey didn't strip you of that 'C' because you weren't playing well."

He sighed again, "I know. I just can't believe that Whitey let him on the team that easily. He knows the problem I have with this guy, I even told him! It should have been a team decision, not just his."

I gave him an apologetic look, "well I think he did do it for the team. He's a good ball player Conner, he knows that, Whitey knows that, and you know that. He should be on the team."

Conner was still for a couple seconds before nodding, "I know, you're right."

I smiled, "I'm always right."

Conners spirit lifted once again, "want to get out of here?"

I rested my chin in the palm of my hand, "and go where?"

Conner looked around, "I don't know anywhere. I can't sit in a desk for the next two hours."

I thought about it for a moment, "you driving?"

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

"And where have you been Haley James?" Brooke asked once I had reached her and Peyton standing on the side of the bus.

I rolled my eyes, "Conner and I went to the cafe."

Peyton gasped, "Haley James, did you skip school?"

"Yes, yes I did. Haley James skipped school!" I said in a loud voice, laughing.

"Aren't you the regular badass?" I turned my head slightly, but I didn't have to see who it was. Nathan walked pass me and the other two, getting onto the bus.

Brooke had turned around to watch him, as Peyton kept her eyes on me.

"What was that about?" Brooke asked turning back around.

I met her eyes, and shrugged. "Just Nathan Scott being an ass, as usual. I'm Conners girlfriend, he has this grudge against me or something."

"But Jake told me that during break, you and him got along fine at the river court." Peyton pointed out, her eyes questioning me.

"I don't know, him and I didn't talk. Look let's just get on the bus okay?" I didn't wait for them to answer.

The players had to get into the bus as soon as possible, it was easier to see who was there and who wasn't for Whitey.

When I got on the bus, my eyes immediately searched for Conner. Mark had taken the seat that should have been mine, but Conner was to nice to say 'no' to his friend. He gave me an apologetic smile before turning back to Mark talking.

"Oh Haley, Luke and Jake are in the back!" Brooke said from behind me.

I took my eyes off of Conner and to the back of the bus, where Jake, Lucas and Skillz were already sitting. But the two people that caught my attention were sitting behind them, Nathan and Rachel. I was about to come up with some excuse to sit in the front but Brooke was already pushing me forward. Lucas and Skillz were sitting in the seats next to one another, and Jake was in front of Lucas. Nathan and his girlfriend were sitting behind Lucas.

"Hey ladies!" Jake said when seeing us.

"Hey boyfriend," Brooke past me and sat down next to Lucas, leaning in for a kiss.

"Hey Skillz, do you mind if I sit here?"

"I don't know James, you might not be cool enough to sit with me," he said with a teasing smile.

"Well," I sat down next to him, "you're just gonna have to teach me how to be as cool as you."

"I guess I can give you some of my secrets."

We both laughed, "so where's Bevin? She wasn't at practice yesterday."

"Oh, she's just sick. Her mom got the flu, then her dad, then her brother, then her."

I laughed, "well I hope she feels better."

"She'll be fine, she just wants an excuse for me to feed her in bed."

I laughed before looking at pair of couples next to me. Talk about awkward! Whitey came onto the bus, gave his usual instructions, then motioned for the driver to get going. The two couples broke away when the old man started talking, but once he was done they were back to sucking each other faces again. I saw Conner turn around, and we shared a knowing look.

"So H. James," I turned towards Skillz, "want to make out?"

We burst out laughing.

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

"Go ravens!" I shouted.

The game was pretty much over, the ravens had killed Saint Jerry's Sharks. The game ended 67 to 46, and the guys all headed to the schools locker room. Conner, Lucas, Jake and Skillz had played incredible. Nathan, however, didn't get to see any playing time. Whitey never put him in, and you could tell that Nathan was pissed about that.

I told Peyton and Brooke that I was going to use the bathroom really quickly and I would meet them outside. However when I walked out of the stall Rachel was leaning against the sink, waiting for me.

"What do you want?" I asked walking next to her to wash my hands.

She turned to face me, a very pissed look on her face. "I want you to stay the hell away from him."

"Sorry Rach, already heard the 'stay away from him' threat. And to make you happy, not that I would ever want to, I have. We broke things off."

"Really? Then why is he always moping around, like he doesn't give a shit about me?"

That made me smirk, "I don't know Rachel, maybe you're just not good enough for him."

She turned her whole body towards me, "you listen hear you fat ass bitch. I can get any guy I want, anytime, any place, and I want Nathan. So why don't you leave your cheating, trampy and slutty ass out of me and my boyfriend's life? Think you can do that you little gold digger?"

I stared at her in mock shock, "wow Rach-ho, I never you knew you had such a knowledge of vocabulary. But maybe the next time you want to come in here and try to lower my self-esteem, maybe you should talk to your boyfriend. Obviously the problem isn't me, it's you. I guess he just wants me but he can't, so he settles for your fake harlot ass." After seeing her confusion I smirked again, "maybe you should go look that one up."

I walked past her and out of the door. That was fun.

It was about twenty minutes later when I had met up with Brooke and Peyton that Conner and Skillz emerged from the door and made their way towards the bus.

I met him half way, "awesome job tonight!"

"Hmm," he said against my lips. "we did pretty good."

I turned around as he wrapped his arm around my neck, "pretty good? How many points did you have, like 40?"

Conner laughed, "36 Hales."

"Whatever, that's still awesome!"

"Hey Conner great game!" Brooke said walking up to us, Peyton by her side.

"Thanks."

"Where's Lucas and Jake?" Peyton asked looking behind us in search for her boyfriend.

Conner rolled his eyes, "when I left they were trying to calm Scott down. He was pretty fumed at couch for not letting him play."

"He just joined the team, doesn't he sort have to earn to start?" Brooke asked.

Skillz shrugged, "who knows."

"Anyways, do you guys want to get on the bus?" I suggested.

They all agreed and we made our way to the bus, some players and cheerleaders already on. This time Conner and I got to sit next to each other.

"Man, I'm exhausted." Conner leant his head against the back of his seat.

"You have a right to be, you played your heart out tonight."

Conner shrugged, "I just wanted to show coach."

"I think you did, he looked pretty impressed. Even though you got half the teams points, you played like a team player."

Conner looked at me and smiled, he placed a kiss on the top of my forehead. "You're amazing, have I told you that today?"

I snuggled up against him, "only about a million times."

Conner draped an arm around me, bringing me closer. "Well for the millionth and one time, you're amazing"

I looked up at him, and saw how much love was there. I then said something I didn't know if I would regret later on or not.

"I love you," I whispered to him.

He looked stunned at first. It was the first time anyone of us had ever said it. A smile slowly formed on his lips, "I love you too Haley James."

He crashed his lips down to mine, and I tried to get lost in the kiss but I couldn't. It felt forced, not anything like I thought it would be. And why the hell was I so worried that Nathan was going to walk on the bus and see us. Finally we pulled away, him breathless, myself sort of embarrassed.

And the first thing I did was search for Nathan, thankfully he was walking with Lucas and Jake to the bus outside.

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx**

Brooke's scream almost left me deaf, "no you didn't!"

I winced at her high pitched voice, "you're going to scare Tar-Heel." Brooke, Peyton and I all looked down at the puppy that was currently in the middle of the circle. It was the day after the game, and I had called Peyton and Brooke over, deciding I was going to tell them what I had said to Conner last night.

After a couple seconds of silence I looked back up at a beaming Brooke, and a questioning Peyton(?) "What?" I asked them both, but more directly at the blonde.

"Haley James! You just told us that you said 'I love you' to your boyfriend of two years now, how can I not be excited!" Brooke exclaimed.

"What brought this on Haley? Last time I checked you weren't in love with Conner, what made you realize?" I turned toward Peyton, my eyes narrowed slightly. What the hell is her problem.

"She said she didn't know P. Sawyer, there's a huge difference," Brooke defended me.

But Peyton wouldn't drop it as her eyes were piercing through me as if she knew, "are you going to answer my question Haley?"

I was about to open my mouth with a rude remark when the door of my room opened. I don't think I have ever been so happy to see Elizabeth, ever!

"Hi girls," she greeted Peyton and Brooke before landing her eyes on me. "Haley I have plans tonight, will you be okay to fend for yourself?" She didn't even wait for my answer before smiling widely, "great, I'll see you tomorrow." She smiled at the other two before shutting the door.

I held in my anger and frustration, and turned back to Brooke and Peyton who were looking at me with worried faces.

"You okay?" Brooke whispered after a moment of silence.

I smiled tentatively, "yeah! Just like every other night right?"

They both looked unsure, "umm sorry Hales but I actually have to go now. Jake and I have plans," she said standing up, Brooke following suite.

"We'll see you later tutor-girl," they both waved good-bye before walking through the door. I groaned and fell back on the floor, starring up at the ceiling. I started singing to one of my favorite songs,

_"I used to carry the weight of the world_

_And now all I wanna do is spread my wings and fly_

_I used to carry the weight of the world_

_And now all I wanna do is spread my wings and fly"_

I was about to start the second verse when I heard a smash from the other side of the room. I popped up and looked over my bed to see Nathan standing, in all his serious hotness, in front of the open window.

I scrambled to my feet, praying that I looked decent enough. "What... what are you doing here?"

I now noticed that he looked mad, furious even. "What the hell gives you the right to talk to Rachel like you did? What the hell gives you the right to even talk to her?"

"She uh... she told you about that?" I started playing with the ring that I had on my finger, a present from Conner.

"Yeah, and she also told me that you said 'you can never be as good as me'. And where in that pretty little head of yours did you think that was true?"

Okay that hurt! I was not going to let him come in to MY room and let him talk to me like that, especially when I didn't even start the damn fight with his whore. I walked over to him so I was standing in front of him.

"Look...how about instead of coming here and warning me that I can't talk to your girlfriend, why don't you go talk to her and ask her what she said to me." I was happy when I saw his face soften a bit, clearly his whore hadn't said anything about what she said to me.

"What are you talking about?"

I took another step closer to him, "I'm talking about the fact that she called me a tramp, a gold digger, a slut, a cheating bitch, and a fat ass!"

He seemed confused now, "why would she say that? You had to piss her off somehow."

"She said that 'it was astonishing to her that I could get you in the palm of my hand, where she had to fight her ass off to get you to even look at her'."

He stared wide eyes at me before dropping his eyes to the floor and sighing. I then noticed how close we were currently standing, and tried to control my breathing as I could smell his aftershave. He then looked up at me, our eyes meeting, his face now guilty.

"I'm sorry, I guess I just over-reacted."

I smirked at him, "you think?"

He let out a short laugh, god how I missed that. "Just stay away from her all right? For both of our sakes?"

I stared at him hard, I nodded.

He nodded in response before stepping even closer to me, one more step and our bodies would be touching. He leaned down, his face centimeters from mine.

"I've missed you," his breath hot on my face, making my breath catch in my throat.

I measly nodded, no words forming in my head. I noticed one of his lips slightly quirk up, "have you missed me?"

I was about to respond and show him how much but the ringing of my phone stopped my actions. I pulled away from him fast, then turned around and walked over to the my dresser flipping the phone open.

"Hello?" I asked not even looking at the caller ID, then turning around so my back was against Nathan.

"Hey baby!"

I closed my eyes, Conner. "Hey," I said in a fake voice, "what's up?"

"Nothing, just wondering if my favorite girl wanted to go to dinner with me tonight?"

"Yeah, that'd be great! Um pick me up at seven?"

"Sure, I'll see you then!"

"Bye!" I quickly rushed out.

"I lo..." but I had hung up the phone then. If he said those words then I would be forced to say them back, but I wasn't going to do that with Nathan in the room. I exhaled deeply before turning around, only to be met with an empty room. He was gone. I stared in disbelief, hoping he would climb back through the window. No such luck. I looked at my clock, I had an hour an half to get ready. I threw the phone on the bed and walked to my bathroom. How could I possibly have dinner with Conner when I knew I was only going to think about Nathan and the fact that he missed me.

Staying away from him was harder than I ever thought.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

**So not a lot happening this chapter, but I hoped you liked it none the less. I know nest chapter will be really hard to write and for you guys to read, but I have to, to make the story good!**

**Oh and the reference of the book Twilight, I so recommend you go and read it if you haven't. It is possibly the best love story ever! And I am so excited that they are making a movie! The actor who is playing the lead male, he is so hot! If your an Harry Potter fan, you'll recognize him immediately!**

**Oh and one last thing, three words : NALEY IS LOVE!! Last nights episode was amazing! They best part of the show! The best couple on the show! I LOVE THEM!**

**Review Please!**


	14. How About A Little Lovin?

**Warning! This chapter will be rated 'M' If that offends you, just skip the italicized.**

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

Why the hell is it so bright? I groaned and rolled over on my stomach to block out the bright light that was disrupting my peaceful slumber. Five minutes later when I was still aware of my consciousness, I flopped back over on my back and sat up. The curtains on my window were pulled back and the december sun was shining through. It didn't look cold outside, but in North Carolina at this time of year it was freezing. I glanced over to the clock that was on the bed stand: 11:48. Deciding I should probably get up and start my day, I jumped out of bed and headed to the kitchen.

I felt extra hungry today for some reason so I made myself some french toast instead of the usual Rice Crispy Treats. Making breakfast was my specialty, besides Mac an' Cheese, it was pretty much the only thing I could really make.

I darted up the stairs when I heard my phone going off, Peyton was calling I could tell from her ringtone. Her attitude from yesterday had not left my mind, and I would hopefully talk to her about it.

"Hey," I greeted her through the phone.

"Hey, can you do me a huge favor?" Her tone kind and friendly, not at all what it was yesterday.

"Yeah sure."

"Will you cover me at the cafe, Larry is leaving on another trip and I wanted to see him off? Can you do that for me?"

"Sure of course, what time?"

"Two to six, that okay?"

I smiled even though she couldn't see it, "don't worry about it. I can cover it."

"Thanks James, you're a life savor."

"No need to tell me," she laughed at my comment. We said our goodbye's and hung up. I ran downstairs and finished making my breakfast. My mind drifting to the events of last night.

_We landed hard on the bed, our lips never breaking. My hands ran through his hair, as his ran up and down my body. His touch left shivers down my spine. Our tongues were battling for dominance, his winning._

_He then started to pull at the hem of my shirt, I grabbed his hand to help him pull it off. Our lips were together a second later. After a couple of seconds he moved away from my lips and made contact with my neck, sucking, licking in all the right places. I then moved my hands to his jean zipper, and unbuttoning them._

I was jerked back to reality when the door bell rang. I opened the door to Mrs. Doner, the next door neighbor, holding Tar-heel in her arms.

"I found him in my garage," she said handing him over to me.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't even know he was outside. He didn't reck anything did he?"

She smiled, "no... he was just laying there. He is a cutie," she petted him.

"Thank you," she smiled again and waved goodbye.

I closed the door and placed Tar-heel on the ground, he turned around and stared at me.

"Bad dog, you know better than to wander off," I scolded him. But my intention to punish him was lost when he whined and lied down on the floor, hie ears bent back and his head resting on the floor.

I tilted my head to the side, and pouted at him. "Now that's cheating, you're using your cuteness to your advantage aren't you?"

He sat up and barked, his tail wagging now. I laughed at him, "come on, race you upstairs!" He was already running before I had time to blink.

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

"Hi Haley," Karen said when I walked through the door.

"Hey," I walked behind the counter and grabbed the apron, "how's it going?"

Karen sighed, "busy. And it seems like it just keeps getting busier."

"That's what happens when everyone loves your cafe," I bumped her in the hip.

She laughed, "yes, well lets hope that everyone will like come ten years from now. I'm gonna need it to pay off Lucas's college money."

I laughed before walking away to table seven and taking their orders. It was pretty hectic for the first three hours but thankfully it slowed down between lunch and dinner. I looked up at the clock, one more hour before I am free. I looked over at Karen who was sitting on a stool looking exhausted.

"Hey are you sure you don't want me to stick around till closing?"

She smiled and paced her hand on my arm, "I'll be fine, Mark and Judy are coming in so I won't need you."

"All right, I'll go do some inventory work for you."

She smiled in gratitude before I walked to the back and grabbed the clipboard. I hated doing this, but I know Karen hates it even more. I started with the 'A' foods and made my way from there.

_After moving away from my neck he started making his way down, to my collar bone, then the center of my chest, and right above my right breast. I leaned into his touch as his cold lips were over my bare skin._

_I felt his hands playing with my jean zipper, and the next thing I know they are on the floor. I wrapped my legs around him, trying to bring his warmth to me. His hands ran up and down the back of my thighs, my hands ran on his tan, bare back._

_I heard him groan and I smirked in his lips, he then grinded his hips against mine and pulled me even closer to him._

"Hey Haley!" I looked up in surprise and smiled when I saw it was Lucas.

"Hey Luke, what are you doing here?"

"Just checking up on mom, I didn't know you were working today."

"I wasn't supposed to, but Peyton called asking if I could fill in for her and I said 'yes'."

"How nice of you," he said in a teasing voice.

I stuck my tongue out at him, only to yank it back in when I saw who was walking into the cafe. Lucas noticed my attention was some where else and turned around.

"Nathan!" I shot a glare to the back of Lucas's head.

He said something to his two friends, and walked over to Lucas who was leaning against the counter.

"Hey," him and Lucas did their 'man' handshake. "What's going on?" I tried really hard not to stare at him, but his silky voice made it very hard.

"Nothing, just stopping bye, saying hi to the beautiful Haley James," at the mention of my name, Nathan's blue eyes were on me. I gulped. "What are you doing here?" His eyes were back on Lucas.

He turned his head to the guys that I have never seen before, "just doing some business."

"All right, hey I'm going to the rive court later, you in?"

Nathan nodded, "yeah." He looked at me again, our eyes locking. He turned back to Lucas, they bumped fist and he walked over to the booth where the other two were sitting.

Lucas turned around, smiling. Lucas and Nathan have gotten really close over the past two months, ever since Luke went to see Nathan at the court. Actually I think him and Nathan are closer now than him and Conner ever were.

_Our kisses were becoming more aggressive, more fierce, like it was the last time we were ever going to do this. His hands then traveled from my stomach to my back, landing on the clasp of my bra. He hesitated for a second, I pulled away from his lips and smiled. Our eyes were on one another, and then he unclasped it in one swift motion._

_I pulled his lips back to mine, his hands kneading my breast now. After a while he moved away from my lips and brought one of my nipples into his mouth. I moaned in pleasure._

"All right Hales, were gonna go," I turned around to see Lucas and Nathan standing there.

I smiled and waved at them, "see ya."

Lucas smiled and headed toward the door, Nathan was still standing there staring at me. "Nate!" He turned around and walked over to the waiting Lucas. I watched as they walked out the door.

"Haley, you're free to go!" I heard Karen say from behind me.

I smiled at her and untied my apron.

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

"Haley is that you?" I rolled my eyes at Elizabeth's question.

"Yeah!" I called back to her wherever the hell she was. I wasn't ready to deal with her just yet. I didn't hear back from her, so I went upstairs to my room. I checked my phone, two new messages. They're were both from Conner.

_I pulled at his boxers, and he slipped out of them. We were both fully naked now. I grabbed at his hair, our lips together now, and moaned out his name._

"Hey you it's me, I was just making sure you were okay. I was thinking of maybe driving to the beach next weekend, what do you think?"

_I let out a gasp when I felt him inside me. He was slow and gentle at first, all the while kneading my breast and kissing me. I felt like I was going to explode. Then he was thrusting faster and faster, my breath catching in my throat._

"Hey I haven't heard back from you yet, you're not dead are you?" He laughed, "just kidding, but call me back, I'm sort of worried about you."

I hung up the phone and collapsed on my bed, closing my eyes. Last night was something I couldn't explain, I don't know if I want to.

_My body tightened, our breaths loud, my nails were digging into his shoulders. Finally we let go together and collapsed. Our chest were rising and falling deeply as we stared into each other's eyes._

_Then I heard his sweet voice, "I love you Haley James."_

_I was silent for a moment, and then smiled. "I love you too Conner Jacobs."_

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx**

**You hated this chapter, hell I hated this chapter! I hated writing it! But please, please, please review. You can tell my how much you hated it! Haha! I know you might be a little confused but all will be explained in the next chapter.**

**P.S. Sorry for the shortness of this chapter!**


	15. Love Vs Love

"So I was maybe thinking of planning a trip to the beach, maybe spend the day there and have like a bonfire. Oh and also we should bring Donny's boat, how much fun would that be?"

I wasn't really listening to what Brooke was saying, the color red on my toe nails were holding my attention. At least that's what I tried to make it look like, there were other things on my mind.

"Tutor-girl? Hello! Haley!" I snapped up, to see her staring at me a little angry and annoyed.

"What?"

She scoffed silently, "have you heard a word I've said?"

I completely ignored her, "have you talked to Peyton recently?"

Her eyes grew in disbelief, and I knew that my question was a mistake. "What the hell Haley? What's going on? You've been acting really weird the past week, what happened?"

I ducked my head and sighed in shame. I had tried so hard to act all cheery and friendly to everyone at school, but it was all forced. I know I fooled Conner with my fake attitude. I thought that I had fooled Brooke and Peyton, but apparently not.

"Haley," she said in a worried voice. I heard her get up from the chair and move somewhere else. I looked up to see her get down on her knees in front of me, her hands on my knees in a comforting way. "What's going on?"

That's when the tears started coming, and I tried really hard not to let them fall. "It's nothing," my voice cracking, letting Brooke know that I was indeed crying.

"Haley James you tell me what's wrong right now, or I will tickle it out of you."

I laughed, "just..." I tried to find the right words. "if I tell you something promise me you won't freak out?"

She nodded immediately, "Haley you can tell me anything."

"Last saturday, when I went out with Conner." I waited her her to remember, "some things happened and we... well we sort of..." I composed myself, "we slept together," I whispered.

For the second time in five minutes, her eyes were wide. Actually, this time they were bulging out of their sockets. "I told you not to freak out!" I reminder her.

It was complete silence, for how long I don't know. Brooke stood up eventually, and turned her back towards me. I eyed her curiously, it looked like she was trying to find the right words to say.

Finally she turned around, "what happened?" She breathed out.

_"No! Sawyer has to get off the island, how can he not?" I asked Conner. He took me to 'our' restaurant Kingsley's Kings. It was a burger place, easy, simple, and great food. We were currently talking about the up-coming episodes of 'our' show LOST._

_"No they already have the Oceanic Six, how could he possibly get off the island? Personally, I think he's going to die."_

_I gasped, "don't say that! He's my favorite character!"_

_"But what does he bring to the story? Nothing, that's what!"_

_I glared at him, "you're wrong, he's going to find out something huge! And then the freighter people are going to threaten him if he tells anyone!"_

_Conner shook his head and laughed, "whatever you say babe."_

_I laughed as the waiter came by with our desserts. "Thank-you," I said to him._

_Conner and I ordered a chocolate cheesecake to share, it was our favorite here. I had completely forgotten about Peyton and Elizabeth while I was here, something about Conner made me forget my problems. However Conner couldn't keep everything away as I saw Elizabeth and her 'sex buddy' of the week come stumbling in. Is she drunk?_

_"Hey waiter! Gives me some couple beers." She yelled/slurred to the bartender before grabbing 'sex buddy' and walking over to the bar. _

_I could only stare in horror, along with all the other people in the building. Tree Hill is a small town, everyone knows who Elizabeth James is, and everyone knows I'm her daughter. I could already feel their eyes on me._

_"Haley," I turned to the soft voice across from me. Tears were welling up in my eyes, and Conner put a hand on top of mine. "Do you want to get out of here?"_

_I nodded vigorously. We stood up, Conner laid a two twenty's on the table, and we were out of there. Elizabeth's loud, drunken voice behind us saying something about butterflies._

_Conner opened the door for me and soon we were off, heading towards home. We arrived at my house twenty minutes later, but neither of us made a move to get out of the car._

_I could feel Conner's worried gaze on me, "I'm fine."_

_"No you're not, talk to me."_

_I sniffed, "there's nothing to talk about. My mother made a complete fool of herself once again, I witnessed it, and now I'm going to be the talk of the town once again."_

_"No you're not! Everyone knows who your mother is Haley, they don't judge you by her actions."_

_My head spun towards him, "and you think that's a good thing Conner? You think everything is okay for me because I'm not my mother?" I was screaming at him now. "I hate the fact that the women in this town look at me with pity in their eyes, the fact that I have a whore for a mother! I was just humiliated in there by her state! You don't think that affects me? It does Conner!"_

_I felt immediately guilty that I had put my anger on him once I saw his face. He was staring down at the steering wheel in shame. "I'm sorry... I just thought..."_

_"Shh," he looked up at me, "I'm sorry. That wasn't fair, you... you were just being ...god I hate my mother!"_

_I saw him smile a little, "do you want to go inside."_

_I smiled at his change of subject, "please."_

"So what happened after that?" Brooke asked.

I shrugged, "we watched TV for a little while, went upstairs, he talked to me a little more about what happened and I guess I just lost it. I realized that Conner has always been there for me, through a lot of crap that has happened in my life. And I knew what I wanted..." I trailed off.

There was silence once again, why was Brooke being so quite? You think she would be jumping off the walls right now?

"I guess I just have one question." She waited for me to nod before continuing, "you said that you weren't going to have sex with him until you knew for sure that you loved him?" I nodded once again. "And just last week you told me that you were in love with Conner, so I guess my question is why do you seem so sad about it if you love him?"

That stunned me. I was thinking that maybe Brooke would be way to excited to see past my sort of sourness towards the subject, but I learned a long time ago: never underestimate Brooke Davis.

"So if you love him, why am I getting the feeling that you regret sleeping with Conner?"

I shook my head, "why would you think that?"

"Because Haley, you're crying right now! Was it really bad or did you really not want it?"

I wiped the tears, that I hadn't known were falling, away. I was about to tell her something I would probably regret later on. I was tired of lying, I was tired of it all.

"What if I told you there was someone else?"

It took her awhile to process the information, "someone else? Like another guy?" I nodded soundlessly, "who?"

I shook my head again, "it's not important."

"The hell it isn't!" Brooke was standing up now, mad. "Who is it Haley? How long has it been going on? Have you slept with him?"

I was standing up now too, face to face with her. "Will you please lower your voice? It's been going on for a couple of months," I put a finger up when I saw she was about to yell more, "and yes I have slept with him."

Brooke looked like she was about to pass out, "oh. my. god."

I watched her carefully, ready to close her mouth when she starts her screaming rant. She looked up at me a few seconds later, "you still haven't told me who."

"Like I said it's not important, him and I...were done."

"Haley the fact that you are crying because you had sex with your boyfriend of two years, kinda tells me that this 'other boy' is not, not important. Because if you have had sex with him, you sure haven't cried about that in the past few months."

Damn it, why did Brooke have to be on top of her game today? I sighed, and sat down next to her on the bed.

"Nathan Scott," I barely said over a whisper.

But Brooke still heard, "are you out of your mind!?"

"Shut up!" I said hitting her arm.

Brooke jumped up and faced me, "what the hell were you thinking? Nathan Scott? Bad boy, total outsider, hates Conner, that Nathan?"

"Do you know any other?"

Her eyes narrowed, "don't get smart with me. How the hell did this happen?"

"It just did okay! Look it doesn't matter anymore though! Were done, we broke things off!"

"Haley! You've been sleeping with a guy you barely know, but you won't sleep with the boy you love?" I was silent and she picked up on that. "Do you even love Conner?"

I snapped my head, "of course I do."

"I mean love, Haley. Do you love him?"

I was on a roll with the honesty thing, why stop now. "No."

Brooke was in shock now. She put her head in her hands, like she was trying to think of something.

"Be completely honest with me Haley. You owe that to your best friend who you have been lying to!" I nodded, "are you in love with Nathan?"

I closed my eyes. I had always tried to avoid this question with myself.

Brooke's voice made me open my eyes, "when you dream at night, do you see Nathan?" I nodded, "when somebody says something, does that sometimes remind you of Nathan?" I nodded again, "would you rather be with Nathan than Conner?"

We stared at one another, I felt like she already knew the answer though. "Yes," I said quietly.

She sighed, "god I was hoping you would say no." She ran her hands through her hair, "what's so great about him?"

"What are you going to interrogate me now?"

"No Haley! I'm asking you questions because I don't have a clue what the hell has been going on for the past couple of months! My best friend has left me in the dark for who knows how long, and now I just want some answers!"

"I just gave you answers Brooke, I love him! Okay? I can't stop thinking about him, he makes me feel alive, he listens to me, he can talk about stuff other than basketball, he's smart, mysterious, gorgeous and the way he looks at me. I can't even describe it!" I paused for a second, "is that want you wanted to know? Did those answers satisfy you?"

Brooke looked furious, "you know what Haley. I am trying so hard not to go all bitchy on you, but you know what? I'm done trying. You Haley James are the biggest slut ever! How could you do this to Conner? The guy is completely in love with you and what do you do? You go off and fall in love with someone else! But of course not before sleeping with him where as you wouldn't sleep with Conner. Oh wait that's because you don't love him even though you told him you do!"

We stared at one another, anger passing through us. "Get out!"

"Fine with me," she turned on her heel and left.

I stood there motionless, my heart beating at a mile a second. Is it common to want to punch something or throw something at the wall when you're angry? Because I have the urge to go and just hit something really hard.

"Haley?" What perfect timing Elizabeth.

"What do you want?" My anger still in my voice.

"I heard yelling, and saw Brooke storm out of here? Is everything okay?"

I walked up to her, balling my fist in my hand. I can't hit, I can't be like her. "Why the hell do you care? You never liked her."

"That's not true Haley. I like all of your friends, you know how much I like Jake and Lucas." She said in a sweet, innocent voice like she has never made a play for either of them. But of course we both know she has.

"Yeah because you want to screw them, like every other guy that's my age."

"Watch your mouth," she said holding a finger to me.

"Or what? You gonna ground me? Take away my cell phone? News flash Elizabeth, the good mom boat sailed away about eighteen years ago!"

"You better watch it young lady."

I laughed at her patheticness, "calm down." I rolled my eyes and turned to get my purse, "I'm going out."

"When will you be back?"

I pretended to think about it, "oh about half past never!" I didn't wait for her response, I was out the door in a flash. I am having a really bad day so far.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

I need a Twix. No! A milky-way! Oh! A Dove Chocolate bar! Man, I don't like being angry. Because other than wanting to punch someone, I am having a huge candy crave. Which is also bad. I had been driving around aimlessly for about thirty minutes until I saw a grocery store.

It was small, cute, and just what I needed. I'm currently standing in the candy aisle, trying to figure out what to get.

"I'd go for snickers," a deep husky voice said in a whisper from behind me. I smiled faintly, and immediately leaned back a little.

"Yeah?"

His arm reached forward, grabbing one. "Defiantly, I hear it helps all moods. Sad, depressed, confused, and even mad." The last part a whisper in my ear.

I turned around to face him, taking the candy bar. "What are you doing here?"

"I saw your car."

I waited for him to elaborate, but he didn't which made me giddy inside. If he meant what I think he meant, then the only reason he came in was to see me. My heart did a jump.

"Oh, okay." Smooth Haley!

"So why are you mad this time?"

"Numerous reasons," I told him.

He smiled, his white teeth showing. "And those reasons are?" I shrugged. "You don't want to talk about it?" I shook my head. "Okay, how about I help you get your anger out?"

I looked at him questioningly, "and how are you going to do that?"

His smile just got even wider, making my knees go weak.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

"Nathan, where are we?" I asked for the billionth time since we left the store. He held his hands over my eyes, which I did not mind, and told me he was taking me to a surprise.

"Were almost there."

"Can I have a little hint?"

His deep laugh rang through my ears, "no."

"Nathan, I hate surprises!"

I felt his hot breath on the side of my cheek, "I know."

A couple of silent seconds later, Nathan lifted his hands off of my eyes. Disappointment ran through me, "you took me to the river court?"

"What, you're not happy?"

"The river court? Come on now!"

He threw his head back and laughed, "I though you'd like it."

I made a pout, "I thought you were taking me to some exotic place, like Cabo or Fiji."

"And you thought that we could walk there?"

"No," I said in a 'duh' voice. "You'd take me to the ocean then fly us there."

He smiled again, "you have some imagination Haley James."

"It's known to get me in trouble sometimes," I said in a sexy voice.

"I bet it has," he said, his mind wondering.

"So," he came back to reality, "why did you bring me here?"

He smiled, "put your fists up."

I did what I was told, confusion on my face. "What are you doing?"

He put up his hands, palms facing me. "You can't hold your anger in Haley, you have to let it out somehow. When I get angry, I go to the local gym and just punch my anger out. I can be there for hours, my knuckles get bruised but at least I'm not killing someone. Just the bag."

I stared at him. So that explains his bruised knuckles.

_"Do I have a stalker on my hands?" I looked up from the railing to see Nathan standing next to me, a smirk plastered on his face._

_"Maybe I'm not the one stalking?" For some reason, when I'm around him I feel self-conscious. I feel like I need to run to a mirror, to make sure I look decent._

_"What can I say, I just can't stop thinking about you." He was leaning against the railing now, our heads both turned towards one another._

_"Usually people can't," I teased._

_He laughed, and I knew at that moment I wanted to hear him laugh all the time. "You, Haley James, are just irresistible."_

_I smirked at him, a smile growing on his face. "So having fun yet?"_

_"Watching people making a fool out of themselves, having sex, or trying to fit in? How can I not be having fun?"_

_I laughed, "so you share the same feelings for parties with me?"_

_"And what are those exactly?"_

_I looked down at the mass of people. Some dancing, some drinking, or getting high. "People are stupid. Girls, boys. All they want is attention, they thrive on it. I mean, why can't girls just wear jeans and a t-shirt?"_

_"Because no guy would ever want her," Nathan answered._

_"Exactly. Boys are stupid because all they want is sex. And the only way most of them will have sex is if they have it with a totally hot girl. And girls think that they only way for them to look hot is in a skimpy halter, and skirt that doesn't cover her ass."_

_Nathan was looking at me with amusement. Great, he probably thinks I'm some stuck up rich kid now._

_"And what about you?"_

_"What about me?"_

_"Where do you fit in?"_

_I looked at him with surprise, I was about to answer him when someone called out his name. _

_He straightened back up, his hand now on the banister. I looked down at it and noticed how blue and black it looked. What happened? Did he hurt himself? He stopped talking to his friend and turned back to me. My worry taking over me, I reached out and ran my fingers over his knuckles. I could feel his questioning eyes on me._

_"What happened?"_

_"Just... my anger getting to me."_

_I looked up at him, his blue eyes on mine. My breath caught in my throat._

"So what do you want me to do?" Still not understanding why our hands were up.

"Hit me." He simply stated.

"Excuse me?"

He laughed, "hit me as hard as possible."

"Why?"

He looked annoyed now, "just do it Hales."

So I did it. I punched him in the hand, which sadly only hurt my hand. He looked at me, his eyebrows raised.

"That's it? That's all you got?"

"This was your stupid idea!"

"You hit like a chick!"

I rolled my eyes, "gee I wonder why."

"Whatever, do it again."

"Nathan," I whined.

"I can keep you out here all night James."

I sighed, and the hit him again. I tried to put a lot more force into it, which just caused my hand to hurt more.

"That was better, now do it with the other hand."

So I did. He told me again. I did. Eventually he didn't have to tell me again, I just started switching hands. They were starting to become numb, so I hit harder and harder. God this felt good! Nathan was right, letting your anger out was much better than keeping it bottled up.

"All right that's enough. Damn James, if I had known you'd be that angry I wouldn't have suggested this."

I smiled as I rubbed my hands, trying to sooth the pain. "Thank-you."

"You're welcome," he took a step forward.

"I actually feel better now, so I should probably head home."

"But you don't want to," he was getting extremely close.

"No, I guess I don't. But I should."

He nodded, "yeah you should."

"Then I'll see you later," I turned around but his hand wrapped around my waist and turned me back around.

"You're not going anywhere," his face was inches from mine.

"Nathan," I breathed out.

"Just say it."

"I can't."

"Yes, you can."

"What about Rachel?" I noticed that his arm was still wrapped around my waist.

"I broke up with her."

"Why?"

"I guess red-heads aren't really my thing, I prefer blondes with the name Haley."

Oh my! "Nathan?"

"Yeah?" He said as he started rubbing his thumb over the skin underneath my shirt.

"Kiss me?"

His lips were on mine before I could even think, and I lost all self control. I stepped even more into him, and he lifted me off the ground, my legs kicking up. My arms were securely around his neck, and his arms around my waist holding me up.

His tongue ran over my lip, begging for entrance. I parted them and our tongues were dueling. We were making up for lost time, and I wondered how long that would take. I was losing it. The smell of him drove me crazy, I ran my hand through his hair.

It was then I knew what I had to do. I had to make a choice once and for all: Conner or Nathan?

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

Thought I would make up for last chapter! Hope you liked it. So I have to say, this story is coming to an end soon. How soon I don't know, but it will be ending in less than ten chapters more than six though!

Oh and OTH on Monday was so good! Anybody else really happy that our Naley is back? I know I was!

Oh and if you guys remember I like to write about things that I myself love! Example LOST, General Hospital and the book Twilight. Well Twilight is an incredible book and they are making a movie about it! And I wanted to show the Twilighters and people who have no idea what his book is about an incredible video on Youtube!

/watch?vsD6DFloIXyE

REVIEW PLEASE!


	16. And The Truth Is Out

English was tense, it was very tense. Brooke and I haven't talked since sunday, and sitting next to her now was very uncomfortable. Mrs. Baker's discussion on our new book about liars, scandals and unfaithfulness really didn't help the matter either. At least Nathan wasn't here today. They have practice the first hour of the day and their after school practice for the next two days.

This was the game that really mattered, it was against our rivals Bear Creek. If we lost then we would have no chance at going to the playoffs, which meant that there was no chance for a State Championship. So Whitey was making sure that the players weren't slacking off for most of the day.

I looked up from the doodle I was drawing when the bell rang, I noticed that Brooke was out of there in a flash. Yeah, she's mad.

I sighed and started packing up my things, not really wanting to finish the rest of the school day. I smiled when I saw Peyton leaning against my locker, hopefully Brooke hadn't talked to her before I could. The last thing I need is for both of my best friends to be mad at me.

"Hey you," she greeted when I came to stand next to her.

I smiled at her happy tone, "hey. What's up?"

"Nothing, where's Brooke?" She asked, looking past me in search for the once-cheery brunette.

"She had to go talk to a teacher," I lied.

Peyton laughed, "since when does Brooke know what a 'teacher' is?"

I opened my locker, letting out a fake laugh.

"What's wrong?"

Damn, she noticed. "Nothing, I guess I'm just really tired."

Peyton nodded, "okay. Well I'll see you at lunch."

I high-fived her as she walked by, turning my head to watch her. But my eyes focused on Rachel standing next to some other girl, glowering at me. I gulped and turned back to my locker, I was a little scared of the look she was giving me.

I closed my locker, and turned my back to her and started walking away from the red-head.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

"Man, practice was a killer," Lucas groaned out, rubbing his neck.

"Yeah, remind me never to play basketball again," Jake said from behind them.

Lucas and Nathan laughed as they made their way down the empty hallway. Whitey had excused the team for the first two periods, and there was only ten minutes left of second period. The three friends decided they would just hang out at Lucas's locker until the bell rang.

"Do you guys think it will be a mad house tomorrow night?" Lucas asked after reaching his locker.

"Are you kidding me? This town thrives on basketball, I'll be surprised if there's one seat in that gym that isn't filled," Jake said.

I looked up when I heard voices, I saw Luke, Jake, and Nathan standing around. I was about to turn around but Lucas's voice stopped me.

"Haley! Hey!" I smiled at him as the other two turned around and and watched as I walked towards them. I avoided the ocean blue eyes that were on me.

"Hey," I said as I stood next to Lucas, "what are you guys doing?"

"Practice just ended," Lucas told me. I nodded in understanding, "what are you doing? Not skipping class are you?"

I smiled at him, "no. I'm leaving early, I have a doctors appointment."

I turned towards Jake, "everything okay?"

I nodded, "yeah just a regular check-up. Okay, well I have to go, I'll see you guys later." I waved good-bye to them, my eyes meeting Nathan's for a second before turning around and heading towards the front entrance. God I still had a lot to think about.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

"What the hell do you want?"

Rachel rolled her eyes, "I want to talk to you."

"That's great, I don't want to talk to you," Nathan retorted.

"Can I come in?"

He laughed, "absolutely not."

"Can you at least try to be civil to me," Rachel yelled at him.

Nathan pretended to think about it, "nope, don't think I can do it."

"What the hell is wrong with you? Why do you have to be such a jack-ass?" Rachel crossed her arms, annoying Nathan even more.

"Why do you have to be so persistent?"

"You know she'll never leave him, right?" Rachel rose her eyebrows in question.

"What are you talking about?"

"Haley will never leave Conner, he's the perfect boyfriend. Why would she ever leave him for you?"

Nathan's blood was boiling, "you don't know what the hell you're taking about."

Rachel smirked, "looks like I hit a sore spot, didn't I? You know it's true, she'll never leave him."

Her and Nathan glared at one another, before Nathan slammed the door in her face. Rachel turned around, stunned. She shook her head in disbelief before walking down the stairs.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

So if I move the 'y' over here I have to subtract, but when I check it the answers are completely different. Agh! I hate trig! When am I ever going to use this in the future? Never, that's when.

"Knock, knock," I smiled as I saw Jake standing there.

"Hey! What are you doing here?" He walked over and sat on the edge of my bed, facing me.

"I guess I just wanted to make sure you were okay," he paused, "are you okay?"

"Actually Jake, I'm feeling a little suicidal," I tried to say in a serious tone.

He smiled at me, "I'll take that as a yes."

I laughed, "yeah I'm fine. Why, what's up?"

"Nothing, just Peyton told me you and Brooke seemed to be a little cold to each other today. I don't know if that's about, you-know- who or something else."

I sighed, "I told her, about Nathan."

"I take it she didn't handle it very well?"

I shook my head, "she was so hurt that I kept it a secret from her. And now I have no idea what I'm going to tell Peyton, because I can't keep this a secret from her either. But I mean Brooke went crazy, and I've told more lies to Peyton than Brooke. I can just see her cursing me out."

"Hey, Peyton would never do that," Jake said in a reassuring tone.

"I had no idea Brooke would act that way, but yet she did."

"I don't know what to do Haley, but I do have a question." I nodded my head, "why are you all of a sudden telling everyone now? I thought you were going to keep it a secret? I mean now that Nathan and you are done, right?"

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

"Rachel? What are you doing here?"

She smirked, "I was in the neighborhood." She walked into the house without waiting for an invitation.

"Well, uh what can I do you for?"

"We need to talk," she said turning around.

"Talk about what?"

She wiped out her cell-phone, pressed some buttons before handing over the phone. "Tell me who's in that picture?"

It was silent for awhile, "I can't tell."

"That my dear friend is Haley."

"Who is she with?"

There was a moment of silence, "Nathan Scott."

The pair of eyes met, one in satisfaction the other in disbelief.

"What?"

Rachel nodded, before walking over to the now frozen figure. "Looks like your girlfriend has a couple secrets up her sleeve."

Conner looked down at the phone once again, and could see the figure of his girlfriend. Except she wasn't kissing him, she was in the arms of his enemy. Rage swept through Conner.

"So," he looked down at Rachel, "what are you gonna do now?"

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

**Kind of a short chapter I know, but it's all building up to the others! Anyway for those of you who read Somebody To Love, you know that I sort of had to take a pause on it, but now I'm back up to writing it! I'm so excited for it! I did however change the story, but it's still the same. The chapter should be up some time later today, so check it out please!**

**Review please!**


	17. Nathan Scott Meets Mr Fist

**There are seriously no words for me to say to you guys, other than that I am so sorry for this unbelievably long wait for this chapter. But I am in school still and I have been cramming for these stupid SOL tests that I am required to take. I'm not even done with the yet, I still have one this week. Not only that but I have finals(kill me) in two weeks. I only have three more weeks left(thank the lord!) but when I''m done with school you will be getting the last couple chapters very daily! Again I am so sorry, and the end of this chapter will probably have you ringing your hands around my neck. I will tell you now, don't expect an update for awhile! Like I said, school is almost out! Anyway, hope you enjoy this chapter!**

"I.. I don't understand," Conner stuttered out. He was flabbergasted, he couldn't believe it.

"What's there to understand Conner? Your little whore has been sneaking off with your worst enemy, for almost a year!" Rachel was now annoyed, why didn't Conner believe this?

"Haley, wouldn't do that. She loves me," Conner forced himself to say. She has to, she told him she 'loved' him on the bus.

"No Conner, she loves Nathan, just like Nathan loves her. Look, I know this hurts, but it's true. I mean I have proof, and you go and ask Haley you know she'll tell you the truth. Now the question is," Conner looked at Rachel, "what are you going to do?"

"I have to ask her about it, I have to know that this is fake. He probably forced himself onto her, she's so small she couldn't hold him off..."

Rachel interrupted, "Conner! Her arms are around him! She doesn't look like she's trying to pry him off her, she's enjoying it."

Conner shook his head, how could this happen? His Haley, his girlfriend for two years was cheating on him. With Nathan Scott of all people! All of a sudden, pure rage swept through his body, his blood boiling. "That son of a bitch is going to die," he whispered, but Rachel heard.

She smirked inwardly, "what are you gonna do?"

"I'm gonna hurt him, and I'm going to make sure that Nathan Scott will never lay a finger on Haley ever again."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"You ready for the game?" I asked Lucas, who was lying on my bed. It was a couple hours before the game and he was just a little nervous.

"What if I suck? Or I get sick and throw up all over the court? Oh god, what if my shorts fall down and I'm run off the court by embarrassment?" Lucas was seriously nervous.

"Luke!" He sat up to look at me, "you are not going to suck, you're not going to throw-up and your shorts are going to stay on. You are going to be great!"

"I hope you're right," he muttered.

"When am I not?" He laughed at that and I threw a stuffed animal at his head. Lucas was about to throw one back at her before his phone rang.

He looked at the caller before answering, "hey Nate."

My heart skipped a beat when I heard his name, I tried to hide my excitement as Lucas was still looking at me.

"I'm at Haley's right now, do you just want to pick me up here?" Nathan was coming? "All right cool, do you need the address?" I scoffed in me head, of course he doesn't need the address. "Sweet, I'll see you man. Bye." Lucas shut the phone, "Nathan's coming over with Jake."

I nodded, "okay. Are you guys staying or heading to the gym?" Please stay!

"No, were gonna head to the court for about an hour then head over." Damn it! "Do you wanna come?"

Yes! "Ye..." however I was interrupted by my cell phone ringing, Conner. "Hey."

"Hey babe, whatcha doing?"

"I'm at home, with Lucas." Why does he seem to have the worst timing?

"Okay cool, do you think I could come over before the game. Maybe you can give me a pep talk, if you know what I mean?"

I laughed nervously, "yeah sure. Luke is leaving in a couple minutes."

"Great, I'll head over now," I didn't have a chance to answer, he had hung up. Great.

"Conner?" Lucas asked.

I nodded, "he's coming over."

"So I guess you won't be joining us at the court?" I shook my head in disappointment, "okay, then I will see you at the game."

He started to leave, "wait! I thought they were coming to get you?"

He turned back around, "they are. I was going to wait outside, you probably want to freshen up before Conner gets here."

I rolled my eyes at him, "I'll see you at the game."

"Later," he walked out the door. I sighed and flopped back onto my bed. Dang it! It was a time like this where I really wanted to just slap Conner across the face! Actually I have been wanting to do that a lot lately. Horrible much? But ever since our night of 'love' he's been so clingy! I guess he's always been like that though, but now I'm just starting to notice. Like every time I answer his call, he always wants to know what I'm doing, not a how are you, or what's up? But like he has to know what I am doing and doing it with.

Another thing that I have noticed, I have been comparing Conner to Nathan a lot the past month. I can't help it, but there's just something about Nathan that Conner will never have. I guess that's a good thing anyway, seeing as I probably would have never started my thing with Nathan if I had a 'badboy' Conner. What it was about Nathan that drew me every time, I have no clue. His eyes, his voice, his body, his kind side, everything.

I also have been thinking about Nathan as just more than my secret fling, but as my boyfriend. How would people react? Would it be different in public? Would I become too clingy? But the real question is, do I choose him or stick with Conner?

I think I know my answer, I think I've known it ever since his ocean blue eyes laid on me.

"Hey you," I sat up and weakly smiled at Conner.

"Hey," I watched as he came to the bed and gave me a quick kiss on the lips. Another thing, Nathan settles for the head or forehead kiss. Conner always needs my lips.

"Where's Lucas? He leave?"

I nodded, "yeah he's going to the rivercourt with Nathan and Jake." I think I saw him tense a bit at the mention on Nathan's name, but I let it go.

"Thanks for the invite guys," he said under his breath.

I rolled my eyes, making sure he didn't see. He was always whining too, which is very annoying.

"So, are you ready for the game?" I regretted it immediately though as Conner went into his usual, 'feel sorry for me' rant. I think he talks so much is because he likes the sound of his own voice. I gave him sympathetic looks while he talked, a pat on the shoulder. I was about to tell him I have to go to the bathroom, but Elizabeth saved that.

"Haley!" She was calling from downstairs, "can you come here a moment?"

"Yeah!" I turned to Conner, "I'll be back." I hurriedly walked out the room, making sure I looked annoyed with Elizabeth when I was actually grateful for her interruption.

Conner was up in a beat, in search for something. His eyes came across it on the night stand, Haley's cell phone. He opened it and pressed the contacts button, scanning quickly through the names. Rachel's earlier words coming into his head,

_"you want to hurt Nathan? So do I."_

_Conner gave her a confused look, "why? Cause he broke up with you?"_

_"No, because he played me like a fool. Now, are you serious about hurting him?" Her eyes brightened with the thought of Nathan enduring pain._

_"He needs to be taught a lesson," Conner's fist balled up in anger._

_"Good, okay here's what you have to do. You have to get Nathan alone, make it seem like Haley wants to meet him. Go see her and when you're alone in her room, look through her phone and text him saying 'meet me at the rivercourt' before the game. That way you can have your way with him," she smirked at her evil plan. Conner nodded, digesting all of it in. "But most likely she won't have his number under his name, it will be some like made up name. So you have to go through them and see if you can find anyone's name that she really doesn't know."_

Peyton, Owen, Quentin, Sam, Uncle Joe, Will... wait. Conner went back up to Uncle Joe. Haley doesn't have an uncle Joe. He mentally went through all of her relatives, Joe was never mentioned. He found his number. He quickly texted, then shut the phone before going to back to the edge of the bed right before Haley walked in.

"Sorry about that," I said. "Elizabeth wanted to know what time the game was tonight, she's actually going for once. How wonderful!"

"I'm sure she just wants to see you cheer, cheering for me of course," he said as he leaned in.

I pulled back, "do you think we can talk after the game?"

Conner's rage returned but he kept under control, "of course. About what?"

I shook my head, "just stuff."

He leaned in again, making sure I couldn't escape this time.

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Lucas looked at his watch, "guys, we better head out." The other two nodded as they gathered their bags and headed to Jake's car. It was an hour before the game would start, and even though the three of them had been able to let loose by playing at the rivercourt, the same churning feeling in their stomachs returned as they made their way to the car.

Then Nathan remember the text that Haley had sent him, he had to think of an excuse to escape his friends. "Shit, you know what I forgot my jersey."

Lucas and Jake stopped walking and turned around to face him, "it's not in your bag?"

Nathan shook his head, "no I remember leaving it on my chair. Damn, you know what I'll just run home and get it."

"Dude, we'll take you," Jake offered.

"No, it's okay. I'll just ride my bike back, and it's not like Whitey was going to start me anyway," he tried to joke. The two gave him questioning looks, "go, I'll be there soon."

Jake and Lucas looked at one another, "you sure?"

Nathan nodded, "yeah, go."

"All right man," he pounded fist with Nathan, "we'll see you later."

Jake pounded fist with Nathan before walking away and catching up with Lucas. Nathan turned away and started running as if he was running to get home, but the minute he heard Jake's car leave the parking lot, he stopped and turned around t watch it speed down the road away form him.

He sighed and made his way back to the court, taking a seat on the bench. He looked at his phone, checking the time. It was already dark out, the lone court lamp was his only source of light. He heard an engine in the parking lot, but didn't bother turning around. He already knew who it was. It was a couple seconds later that he heard footsteps, and a lot of them. Nathan turned his head, and was shocked to see Conner, Bane, and two other guys he recognized from school. Nathan slowly stood up, facing his enemies.

Conner was the first to speak, "what the hell have you been doing with my girlfriend, Scott?"

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"Where the hell is Conner?" Whitey's booming voice called through the gym, "and Scott!"

"Coach, I told you Nathan had to run home. He forgot something," Lucas tried to explain. It didn't comfort Whitey.

"Well where the hell is Conner?"

The team shook their heads, no one knew where there leading scorer was.

I watched in confusion, where was my boyfriend?

"Hey," I turned my head to Peyton, "you don't know where he is?"

I shook my head, "no, he told me he was coming straight here when he left my house. Peyton what if something happened?"

She wrapped her arm around me, "it's okay. He's probably on his way now, just waiting for a dramatic entrance."

That made me smile, but it vanished when I saw Brooke heading this way. We still haven't talked about me and Nathan, she was still furious with me.

"Opening routine in five," she quickly turned around and headed to the next group.

Peyton unwrapped her arm form me, "okay, why am I getting this really cold tension form the two of you?"

I shook my head, "we had a little fight."

"Over what?"

Think fast Haley, "shopping. I made fun of her favorite designer, she took it bad."

I knew Peyton didn't believe it, but was grateful that she let it go. The announcer's voice filled the gym a second later, which meant that it was our cue to head to the middle of the court.

"Now I present you, your Tree Hill Raven Cheerleaders!"

Brittany

Brooke and I stood in front of everyone, the tension very visible between us. But I tried to ignore that, ignore the fact that Conner and Nathan weren't here, and let Brittany Spears' Break The Ice take over me.

_Let me break the ice _

_Allow me to get you right _

_Won't you warm up to me _

_Baby I can make you feel (hot, hot, hot, hot) _

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"What are you doing here Jacobs?" Nathan's voice sounded bored, but also very dangerous.

"What am I doing here? What the hell are you doing here? You don't belong here Scott, never have and never will. This isn't your court, nor is it your town. You act like it is, and it's pathetic."

Nathan smirked, "you done pretty boy?"

Conner took a very risky step forward, "I'm not even close to being done."

Nathan stiffened his body, no one approached him like that. "You better take a step back bitch," he hissed with venom.

Conner only took a step forward, his friends close behind him also moving forward. "Don't think so, you see Scott I came here to kill you."

Nathan scoffed, "what did I do this time?" Nathan already knew, but he wanted to play with his head.

"You know exactly what you did, and you're never gonna do it again."

Nathan's smirk returned, "I think that's up to her don't you think?"

Conner's fist connected with Nathan's jaw, the force not even knocking him back. Nathan composed himself quickly, darting at Conner. Instead his friends had joined Conner and pushed Nathan onto the ground before he could get to him. It was four against one as Conner and his friends started kicking and punching Nathan.

He was able to get a few hits in, but as the punches and kicks got worse his body started going numb. They kicked him in the ribs, in his back, a couple times in the head. He knew his jaw and nose were broken after repeatedly getting punched. He could taste his own blood in his mouth, he was loosing consciousness.

"Stay. The. The. Hell. Away. From. Haley!" Every word shouted came a punch to the face as Conner finally let all his anger out. His three friends watched, their faces slowly showing concern for their friend and the beaten Nathan.

"Conner, man I think he got the message," Bane tried to tell his friend. Conner ignored him though, his fist pounding Nathan's over and over again.

_It started out as a feeling_

_Which then grew into a hope_

_Which then turned into a quiet thought_

_Which then turned into a quiet word_

"Ravens on three!" Lucas was in the middle of the huddle, his teammates surrounding him. It was finally game time, and Conner and Nathan couldn't be found anywhere.

"One...Two...Three..."

"Ravens!"

_And then that word grew louder and louder_

_'Til it was a battle cry_

_I'll come back_

_When you call me_

_No need to say goodbye_

"Conner! Come on man, quit it!" Bane was hovering over Conner, his voice frantic.

Nathan wasn't moving, his face was bleeding everywhere. Conner wasn't letting up either.

Nathan had slipped into unconsciousness.

_Just because everything's changing_

_Doesn't mean it's never_

_Been this way before_

_All you can do is try to know_

_Who your friends are_

_As you head off to the war_

Where the hell are they? I looked over to the door, waiting for one of them to walk through it. Conner would never miss this, he's been waiting for this game.

"I'm worried," I heard Peyton mutter.

I turned my head as I felt a pair of eyes on me, Brooke was looking at me with sympathy in her eyes. She game me a soft smile and put a reassuring hand on my shoulder.

If it was for Nathan or Conner, I don't know. Maybe it was for both.

_You'll come back_

_When it's over_

_No need to say good bye_

_Now we're back to the beginning_

_It's just a feeling and now one knows yet_

_But just because they can't feel it too_

_Doesn't mean that you have to forget_

"Help me!" Bane yelled to his friends as he was trying to pull Conner off of the still Nathan.

"Let me go!" Conner tried to get out f his friends strong hold, but they were too much.

"Conner! The game has started, we have to go!"

Conner continued to stare at Nathan, his demeanor calming slightly. He nodded as he yanked away from his friends and turned away from them, heading toward the car.

The three friends stood there, staring at Nathan. "What should we do?"

Bade shook his head, "nothing." He turned around and followed Conner, the other two doing the same.

On the side of the river court, Nathan lied there. No one could see him from the road, no one would be able to help him.

_Let your memories grow stronger and stronger_

_'Til they're before your eyes_

_You'll come back_

_When it's over_

_No need to say good bye_

**The songs used in this chapter:**

**Brittany Spears- Break The Ice**

**Regina Spektor- The Call**


	18. We Are The Champions!

**So, I know you all probably hate me. As well you should! But I have an excuse! No, not really actually. Haha! I finished school (thank goodness!), then I went to Florida for a week. I would have updates but there were way too many cute boys to write, I was very distracted ;) lol! Then I started reading The Host, which is amazing! Totally recommend it! But now, I'm home, and I have lots of free time! There's only going to be two more chapter left. Sad, but true. But I still have Somebody To Love, and I'm working on this new one that is so going to kick ass! I'll post the summary of it next chapter!**

**Okay, here's chapter 18. Hope I don't disappoint!**

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The fourth quarter had just started, and there was still no sign of Conner or Nathan. And to say that I was freaking out, would be a huge understatement! I couldn't stop looking over at the entrance every five seconds, or the fact that I hadn't stopped playing with my hands since the game had started.

It also didn't help that we were losing. The Ravens were down twenty points, and only had fifteen more minutes to catch up.

"Still no sign?" I turned my head to see Peyton standing next to me, her gaze locked on the door.

I shook my head, "no. Do you think I should go look for him?"

She seemed to think about it for a moment, "no, I'm sure he's fine. We'll go after the game if he still hasn't shown, okay?"

I nodded, and she gave me a reassuring smile. I noticed Brooke looking over at us, her face full of worry also. Our anger at one another was slowly fading, which I was very grateful of.

All of a sudden the gym erupted with screams and applause, and I looked back to the entrance. Conner was making his way into the gym, uniform on and bag slung over his shoulder. A smile plastered on his face. His eyes made their way to mine, and I noticed how dark they looked. His smile also faltered for the tiniest second.

"Where the hell have you been?" Whitey asked when Conner had made his way over to his teammates and coach.

He shrugged, "traffic."

Whitey didn't believe it for one second, "sit your ass down." He turned to the other players, "okay so here's how were going to play..."

"Coach, you have to play me!" Conner said, interrupting the old man.

Whitey turned back to Conner, a murderous look on his face. "What the hell do you mean I have to play you? I don't have to do a god damn thing! You're late, you showed up more than half way through the game, your teammates have worked their butts for three quarters while you've been supposedly sitting in your nice, heated car. Why the hell should I play you?"

Conner took a step forward, "because you need me, and you know it. Look at the scoreboard," Whitey's eyes flickered over, "this is our chance coach. Who knows when you'll get another one, I can do this. We can do this."

Whitey was silent for a couple seconds, the crowd's thunderous noise behind him. He looked at Conner warily, debating with himself. He then slowly nodded, "okay. Check in for Thomas."

Conner smiled, then turned around to walk over to the center table. Whitey turned back to his team, he shared a look with Lucas. Defeat washed over the old man's eyes, he knew that his team couldn't win without Conner.

Conner returned to his his team, "you guys ready to win?" The team converged into a circle, their hands flying to the center, landing on each others. "Ravens on three! One... two...three!"

"Ravens!" The crowd roared with excitement, as the home team walked onto the court. Conner looked at me again, our eyes meeting. He flashed me a smile, and I returned one. However, the relief I thought I would feel when I saw him walk through those doors never came. The worry lessened a fraction. but I still kept my eyes on the entrance. Waiting for Nathan to walk through.

The Ravens got the ball, and Lucas inbounded it at the other end of the court. Jake dribbled the ball down the court, telling his teammates the play with a number. I watched as it was passed between players, then Skillz passed it to Conner who was behind the three point line. The ball flew threw the air, and swished through the basket. The place was shaking with noise.

It was back and forth for the rest of the quarter, but the Ravens had pulled to a two point deficit with only 36 seconds to go. The other team took a timeout, letting the teams, the crowd, and even us cheerleaders a break from everything. They needed to figure out a way to stop our offense.

"Oh man," Peyton said next to me, "this is intense. I don't think I have ever screamed as loud, my voice will defiantly be gone tomorrow."

I smiled. "I know what you mean," I muttered.

We were interrupted when the crowd erupted in noise, as the two teams made their way back to the court. Conner searched my eyes out, and gave me a nod. I smiled at him. Conner was going to win the game, just like he always does.

The ravens were going to get the ball back, there was seconds to go, and Conner Jacobs was more determined then ever. This was it for him, this was his big chance. Even if the Ravens don't win the championship, or hell the next game in the playoffs, if Conner makes the shot he'll go down as a hero.

A part of me wished it was Nathan who was going to make the shot, that way no one would keep comparing him to his rotten dad. He could finally cut those strings that were dangling him, letting everyone know that he was Dan Scott's son. I felt a pang in my heart, reminding me that Nathan wasn't even here.

The buzzer sounded, and the game continued it's final seconds. I watched with fixed eyes on the ball, not even daring to stray from it. Lucas had the ball, then Jake, he passed it to Skillz who almost lost control, then passed it to Lucas again.

I dared a look at the clock, my pulse speeding with every second that ticked down. There was only twelve seconds left, and Bear Creek was pressuring us big time. Conner had no where to go, he was stuck on one of the sides trying to get past his defender.

Suddenly, Lucas hurled the ball to Conner across the court. He had broken away... nine seconds... he was behind the three point line. I could tell he was debating whether to get the safe lay-up to tie, or risk everything with the three pointer. No doubt he could make it, he's made that shot billions of times, but what if just this once something didn't go according to plan. What if the story was changed, what if Conner missed. He wouldn't be the one known as the kid who brought his team back, but the one who made a huge ass mistake. He wouldn't be able to handle it.

I looked at the clock, five seconds. He had made up his mind, I knew that. So he was either waiting for a chance to break through his defender and drive to the basket or wait till the final second to make the big shot. I realized that Conner wasn't going to play it safe, he wasn't playing by Whitey's rule, he was going for the big shot. Not to try and just win it for the team, but he wanted another game under his name. Another game that he had won, just him. The thought disgusted me, he could be so selfish.

Two seconds. Conner put the ball in between his legs, then took a step back to give him space from his defender. He made a fake move with his hands and the ball, like he was going to shoot. The defender fell for it, and Conner flicked the ball in the air.

The gym fell silent, like it did in all the movies. I wanted to laugh, and I had to try very hard to stifle it. There's only one person in the world, who would find this insanely hysterical like myself, and he wasn't here.

I watched the ball sail through the air, spiraling. It was either going in the net, or out. There was no middle or in between. It had to make a decision, a decision that would break one team's heart, and bring joy and happiness to the other. I guess the ball and I had some stuff in common.

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"We are the champions, we are the champions!" Skillz sang, very pitchy. Jake and Lucas laughed, "no time for losers, because we are the champions!"

"Dude! Dude!" Lucas put a hand on his friend's shoulder, "we won a game that is getting us into the playoffs, not the state championship."

Skillz shrugged, "so? Come on, you know you want to sing with me."

Jake laughed, then started singing. "I've paid my dues, time after time."

Lucas shook his head, Skillz wrapped an arm around Jake. "I've done my sentence..." he looked at Lucas.

"But committed no crime," he finished with a smile.

The three of them had just played the hardest game of their lives, but it had paid off in the end. Conner had made the shot, it hit off the backboard and fell into the net silently. The gym went absolutely bonkers. Confetti fell down from the ceiling, fans raced to congratulate the team, the players lifted Conner on their shoulders, and everyone started chanting 'Ravens'.

Now Lucas, Jake, and Skillz were headed to the river court, to relax and enjoy the game. They had told the girls that they would hang with them later, but they were just going to be guys for an hour or two.

The friends continued their singing, waking up the town no doubt. They sounded like a bunch of high school drunks, just walking through the dark. They reached the top of the river court just as they finished the last line of the song,

"Cause we are the champions, of the world!" The three bellowed. They laughed, as they made their way onto the court. It was dark, but the lamp was still on. It was Skillz who saw him first, or rather the shadow of something big lying on the ground, but it was too dark to see what it was.

He cocked his head to the side, "what the...?" he muttered under his breath. But the others heard him, and turned to him with confused looks on their faces.

"What's wrong?" Jake asked, watching Skillz.

He ignored him, and made his way over to the bench and dark object. Lucas and Jake followed slowly, not sure what was going on. When Skillz realized it was a person laying on the ground, his walk turned into a sprint. The other two following suit.

"Shit!" Skillz yelled, seeing Nathan on the ground, blood dripping everywhere from his face. "Call 911!"

"Nathan!" Lucas cried, when recognizing his friend. He dropped to his knees, "Nathan!" Jake was on the phone now, talking fast and quite, "Nate! Wake up," he gently shook his shoulders. Nathan didn't stir. He looked up at Skillz, "what do we do?"

Skillz shook his head, "I don't know!"

Jake bent down, "their coming. They said to just try and wake him, try to get him conscious."

"Nathan," Lucas said more quietly, "Nate!"

"Oh man, he's bleeding everywhere," Jake said looking down at his hands and legs. The area of his knee, the blood was seeping through his jeans. Jake ripped his sweatshirt off, ripping off one of the sleeves.

"What are you doing?" Skillz asked.

"Trying to stop the bleeding, he lost so much already." He wrapped the cloth around Nathan's knee, tying it tightly. In the background, sirens were wailing. "Here they come," he murmured.

The three boys fell into silence, just listening to the rescue that was coming. Lucas was holding his friends hand, Skillz was looking at the damage, and Jake was trying to stop the bleeding on his knee. The ambulance was getting louder, it was getting closer. All three of them wondering the exact thing about their friend.

_What the hell happened?_

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"You were amazing!" I jumped into Conner's arm when I opened the door. He laughed as he caught me, and leaned back making my legs go higher in the air. We had decided that he would come over after he was done celebrating with his teammates and friends. Lucas, Jake, and Skillz had gone to the river court and we were supposed to meet with them late if we wanted to.

Conner put me back on the ground, "thanks. Man that was crazy, wasn't it?" He shut the door behind him, and we started walking to the kitchen.

"Crazy? More like, unbelievable! There are... no words. You carried the team again."

He shrugged, like no big deal. "I had a little help."

I almost rolled my eyes, "where were you?"

He looked at me funny, "what do you mean?"

"I mean, where were you the entire game?" I saw something flash across his face, but I couldn't be sure.

"There was a lot of traffic," he answered weakly.

I raised one eyebrow, "traffic? How the hell could there be traffic when all of Tree Hill was in the gymnasium?"

He knew his excuse was bad, but it was too late. "Look Haley is doesn't matter..."

"Yes, yes Conner it does! I was really worried about you, a lot of people were. Why are you lying..." that's when I noticed his fist. They were bruised, and somewhat red. I took a step towards him, "what happened to your hands?"

He looked down on them, and silently gulped. I had a feeling this is what he was doing during the game, but what? "It's nothing," he wrapped his hands around his back.

"Conner, did you get into a fight or something?" I was eyeing him carefully, he didn't look that hurt.

Conner shook his head, "I don't want to tell you."

"That's too bad, what happened Conner?" My voice was hard and stern, I needed answers.

He opened his mouth, if sound was going to come out or not I had no idea. We were interrupted by the shrill sound of the house phone ringing. I sighed, my eyes still on Conner. When it was clear that he wasn't going to answer till the phone stopped, I turned around and grabbed the phone off the hook.

"Hello?" My voice was impatient, but I was too tired to care.

"Haley?" It was Brooke.

"Hey, what's going on?" I noticed the panic in her voice, as she said my name. She had my full attention now.

"There was an accident... or not... they don't know what it is but..." she was rambling and stalling. Something was clearly wrong.

"Brooke! What's wrong?" I could feel Conner's eyes burning through me.

"The guys went to the river court, and they found Nathan." The mention of his name brought relief to my body, but it went away when I realized Brooke wasn't done. "They found him lying on the ground, his face was bloody and oh my god..." she trailed off.

"Brooke!"

"He's in the hospital Haley."

Tears were pouring from my eyes by now. This isn't happening! Not Nathan! I hung up the phone, turned to see that Conner wasn't in the room anymore. But I didn't care, I darted for the keys and ran as fast as I could to my car. I started it, the stereo blasting on, and I pulled out into the street.

_if I could just see you _

_everything will be alright _

_if I'd see you _

_the storminess will turn to light_

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Lucas, Jake, Peyton, Brooke, Skillz, Bevin, and Karen were all in the waiting room when I got there. They were sitting in the plastic chairs, on the floor, leaning against the wall. They all looked like they had been crying for hours, like the worst news had already come.

Lucas noticed me first, "Haley," he whispered. Everyone turned their heads, watching as Lucas walked towards me. I met him half way, crushing myself into him. I tried to make it look like I was soothing him. Like he was the one with a friend in the hospital, and I was just there for support.

He pulled away from me, his eyes stinging with tears. I looked up at him with sympathy, his best friend was in the hospital. "How is he?" I managed to get out, but my voice was shaky and uneven.

Lucas didn't notice, or at least acted like he didn't. "They don't know, he hasn't woken up yet. They don't know when or if..." he stopped there. I was grateful he stopped, I was bound to end up in hysterics if he continued.

I wrapped my arms around his waist, and we made our way to our friends. Everyone seemed comforted that Lucas had his other best friend there with him, but only Brooke and Jake were giving me sympathy looks.

I detangled myself away from Luke and embraced Brooke, tears starting to flow out. I buried my face in her shoulder, shielding myself from everyone. To the world is just seemed like two friends comforting one another about their hurt friend, but it was a friend comforting someone whose loved one was in a hospital bed.

After a couple of seconds, we pulled away. But Brooke kept her arm around me, as did I. Peyton came over to my other side, and rubbed my arm up and down. We sat down on the chairs, Lucas and Jake sat across from us on the floor. Karen was on the phone, making sure the cafe was being taken care of, and Bevin and Skillz were sitting a couple chairs down. We all waited in silence.

It seemed like an eternity when a doctor came over, a clipboard in his hand. "Are you the family of Nathan Scott?"

We all stood up, but Lucas spoke. "Yes, is he going to be okay?"

The doctor eyed him with question before turning to Karen, "are you the mother?"

Karen was hesitant to answer, "um, no but I..."

The doctor interrupted, "I'm sorry but I can't give out any information to you, not unless one of you is related to Nathan."

He turned around but Lucas stopped him, "please! His father isn't in the picture, and he's emancipated from his mom. I'm... we're the only family he's got." Lucas was pleading with his eyes, we all were.

Karen stepped forward, "I'm his guardian, or I'm close to being it. We had just decided a couple days ago..."

We all turned to stare at her, then the doctor. He nodded slowly, "okay. Nathan is in serious condition." He paused to let that sink in, "we can't be sure, but we think that he was attacked."

"Attacked?" Jake asked, "like attacked by an animal or..."

The doctor shook his head, "no. We think he was beaten by another person, maybe more. From what it looks like Nathan is a pretty well muscled kid, so I'm guessing either his attacker was a very large man or there were multiple people involved."

"Oh my god," Lucas murmured, his hands rubbing over his face.

The doctor continued, "he took major blows to the stomach, which caused ribs to break. There were damages to his left knee as well, and his right leg is broken." Everyone gasped, "and his head, well that's our biggest worry at the moment." He took a breath, "his nose is broken, lips and cheeks are swollen, and it seems like every inch on his scalp has blood on it." I cringed, so did everyone else. "We have no idea what the brain damage is, and we won't know until he wakes up."

I tried to control the tears, it was very hard effort. Lucas spoke first, "do you have an idea when he will, I mean he can't be asleep for that long..."

The doctor shook his head in shame, "because of the sever blows to his head, Nathan could slip into a coma at any minute. We're hoping that he's just unconscious, and he could be for days, then wake up. But with what has happened, and the injuries, it will take a miracle for Nathan to fight the coma."

I brought my hands up to my mouth, covering it. I hoped that would hold back the sobs that were sure to come at any minute, why was this happening? Jake put a hand on my shoulder, giving me a small squeeze.

"Can we see him?" Skillz asked.

"Not yet, we still have some tests to run. But I'll let you know if there's any changes, and when he's ready I'll allow you to see him."

"Thank you," Karen said, before he turned around and walked away.

None of us moved, no one breathed it seemed. It wasn't until a couple minutes later that we all returned to our spots. Brooke seemed to be holding me tighter than before, and I was grateful for it. Anything to protect the walls that were crumbling down.

I think it was an hour later, when Lucas started to ramble. "I should have gone looking for him, when he hadn't shown up at the game I knew something was wrong." I looked up at him, his head was between his hands. "When Conner came in, I should have gone to look, I knew he could win the game. Why didn't I go?"

At the mention of Conner's name, I was pulled away from everything. Why had he run out when Brooke called, why was he lying to me about where he was? And what was wrong with his hands. They looked like Nathan's when he was done punching...

My breathing became slow, my hands started to shake. I was becoming dizzy, and I felt a wave of nausea flow through my body. Oh my god! The pieces of the puzzle were coming together, and I was an idiot! A wave of tears came through, and disbelief shook my body. How could he? He wasn't a violent person, he would never! But my inner voice was yelling at me, yelling at me because I was so stupid! I have to know, I have to know now!

I jolted up, the movement made everyone look at me. But I didn't say a word as I ran down the hallway, the voices calling me back, I didn't wait for the elevator. I slammed open the stair doors, and ran as fast as I could. I wasn't in the best physical shape, but I didn't give a damn. I didn't even bother to get my car, the river court wasn't far from the hospital. And I know he'll be there.

I ran, I ran even though I could barely breathe. My hear was beating in my ears, the blood was running everywhere, but that just made me run faster. I reached the edge of the park, and saw a figure standing at the court. I knew it was him.

I walked then, trying to get my breathe back. I had no idea what I was going to say, and if I was wrong and I was accusing him of this, him and I would be over. I knew it, but either way I had to do it. I had to know if Conner was the one who put Nathan in the hospital bed, and if he wasn't I had to end it with him. It was time, and I had to be with Nathan. My heart was with him, and he needed me.

Conner didn't turn around when I came to step behind him, even though I knew he knew I was there. My breathing gave me away.

"Conner?" I was surprised at how strong my voice sounded.

He turned then, his eyes locking with mine. "What's going on Haley?" He was playing innocent, which just made this worse.

"Where were you tonight, before the game? And don't lie to me, I'll know."

He stared at me for a moment, "I told you, there was traffic..."

"Shut up!" I screamed! "Don't lie to me! Where were you? Were you here? Were you with someone?"

He bit his lip, every second he knew I was getting to know the answer. Him avoiding the question, was the biggest sign. "I..."

"Did you... did you attack Nathan?" I whispered, my voice full of shame. I was asking my boyfriend if he attacked the guy that I was sleeping with behind his back.

I looked up at him, when he didn't answer. "Are you sleeping with Nathan?" It was as if he had read my mind.

The question caught me off guard, and I almost staggered back. I shook my head in disbelief, "wh.. what?"

He took a dangerous step towards me, but I was rooted in place. Shocked. "You heard me," he spat out with venom in his voice, "are you screwing that fuck head?"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**I'm no medical expert, so don't hate me if my information is totally wrong! It's my story, and in it that's how it works! lol! I know the cliffhanger sort of sucks, but I was tired and I didn't feel like writing anymore. Sorry! Next chapter will be up soon though, scouts honor! Don't forget to leave me a treat! Review! lol!**

**Songs: **

**We Are the Champions- Queen**

**Calling All Angels- Train**

**P.S.! Good luck Germany in the Euro 08 Final! I'll be watching!**


	19. Wake Up

"Wh... what are you talking about?" I stammered. Just the volume of his voice sent me stumbling back a few steps, but the question alone made my heart stop.

He was glaring at me now, the saying 'if looks could kill' ran through my head. "You heard me, are you screwing him?"

Never in a million years would I have wanted Conner to 'find' out like this. If he were to ever know the truth, then I wanted to be the one to tell him. Not like this. I wanted to ask him how he found out, who told him? But it didn't matter, not now at least. He was furious, and by asking him how he found out about me and Nathan would just make him ever more enraged. He didn't deserve this, no one did, but especially Conner. My reason for being here was lost, all I wanted to do now was explain.

"Conner, I am so sorry... but there... it just..."

He interrupted me, "it just what? Happened? So your not denying? I want you to tell me Haley, tell me!"

I flinched at his voice. "I've been with Nathan while you and I were together." My voice was quite, and rushed. But I knew he could hear me.

He let out a bitter laugh, "how long?"

I was silent for a moment, did he really need to know? "Nine months." I looked up at him, and I regretted it immediately. "Conner I'm so sorry, you have no idea how sorry I am that you found out like this!"

He took a step toward me, and I stepped one back. The look in his eyes frightened me more than is should. "Sorry? That's all you have to say? I was in love with you, I am in love with you! How could you do this? To me? You told me that you loved me! Was that just talk, or did you mean it?"

"I do love you Conner, but..."

"Just not as much as him, right? How could you do this to me Haley?"

Tears were falling out now, I had hurt him and I was disgusted with myself. "I don't know, when I met him he just... he made me happy. He made me happier than anybody has ever made me, and I fell in love with him."

"You're a whore." I looked down at my shoes, god he was right. "You are a filthy, backstabbing, heartbreaking, slutty, whore! You deserve that bastard! You both sick me! Man I am so happy that I finally found out, that way I won't have to look at your whore of a face again!"

Fury shot through me. And the reason I was here came back to me. "Did you do it Conner? Did you beat up Nathan?"

"What do you think?"

I didn't know what to think. Was Conner capable of something like this? Could he really endanger someone else's life? Was he that angry, and hurt? I looked down again, but his hand's brought the answer to me. Yes, he would.

"I think you beat up Nathan with a couple of your friends, that's why you were late to the game. That's why your hands are bruised, you beat up Nathan."

He smiled, "I never heard of a smart whore. Yes I was the one who beat the shit out of him, and boy did I love doing it."

"What?" Conner and I both turned to the side to see Lucas standing there, looking stunned at Conner. "What the hell did you just say?"

Conner turned toward Lucas, so he was facing him completely. "You heard me Roe, I was the one who beat your little boyfriend up."

Lucas took a step towards him, "you sick fuck."

Conner laughed, "what are you going to do? Beat me up? Go ahead, but I would look at your friend again. You want to end up like him?"

It was Lucas's turn to laugh, "you think you could take me, you son of a bitch?"

I saw Conner gulp nervously, "of course I could take you."

"Okay..." he stepped towards Conner very slowly.

"Luke," I whispered softly, but he ignored me.

Lucas was standing in front of Conner now, they were just staring at one another. Then suddenly. taking Conner by complete surprise, Lucas punched him right in the nose. Conner groaned in pain, falling backwards onto the blacktop.

"Lucas!" I screamed.

Lucas was standing over Conner, who was clutching his nose, glaring down on him. "Stay the hell away from Nathan, me and Haley. I see you any where near her, or any of our friends, I will kill you."

Conner didn't say anything. He just sat still on the blacktop, clutching his, what I would presume, bloody nose. I had never been afraid of my best friend, but in this moment he was scaring me.

I walked over to Lucas, and carefully touched his elbow. "Let's go," I whispered softly to him. He looked at me slowly, guilt flooding his eyes. I gave him a small nod, to tell him it was okay. He then turned back towards Conner, gave him one last glare before turning around and walking away. I sighed, "I'm sorry." It was quite, short, and the end. We stared into one another's eyes, this was it. Conner and I were done, and frankly I wanted nothing more to do with him. He wasn't the guy I thought he was. Yes I never really loved him, but he was always so good to me. It was hard, and I'm sure it will be hard to shut him out of my life completely. But what he did tonight, I could never forgive him for that.

With one last sigh, I turned around and walked in the direction Lucas had. I was afraid tears were going to fall, but I was surprised they didn't. I had lost a good friend tonight, but I think I might have gained an enemy. But none of that mattered right now, all that mattered was Nathan. Just the thought of what happened to him and where he was, brought tears to my eyes. I half ran to Lucas's car, wanting to be near Nathan. He was waiting in the car, already turned on. He wanted to get back quickly too.

I slammed the door shut, but Lucas didn't make a move to turn the car in reverse and back out. He was just staring at the steering wheel, his brows furrowed together like he was confused about something.

"Lucas?" My voice was soft, but in the silence it seemed like I was yelling.

"Are you... and Nathan...?" He turned his head to me, eyes showing hurt, and betrayal.

I looked down at my hands, "Luke... we've been seeing one another..."

"How long?" His voice was sharp, and demanding. I flinched in the darkness.

"Um... nine... nine months I think."

I turned my head to look at him, but his face read nothing. He was just staring at me, trying to figure out if he should laugh or yell. I felt guilty, my best friends since forever, I hadn't told him that I was seeing Nathan behind everyone's back. Jake and Brooke knew, but not my best friend.

"Luke..." I tried to explain, but he just turned back forward, putting the car in reverse and speeding out of the parking lot.

I turned towards the window, closing my eyes. This was going to be a long night.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Everyone stood up when Lucas and I walked out out the elevator, worried expressions on their faces. I felt bad, they didn't need to be worrying about me only Nathan. Brooke was the first to meet us, she looked at Lucas then me. "Is everything okay?"

I nodded, but Lucas spoke. "No, Conner was the one who did it. He attacked Nathan."

Shock washed over everyone's faces. "Are you serious?" Jake asked after a moment of silence.

Lucas nodded, "yeah, that's why he was late to the game. He was beating the crap out Nate."

"Oh my god," Peyton murmured.

I looked up at Brooke, who was still next to me. She wrapped an arm around me, pulling me to the nearest chair. Peyton and Bevin soon came over too. "I'm so sorry Haley," Brooke whispered in my ear, her head resting against mine.

"That son of a bitch," I heard Jake mutter. Him, Lucas and Skillz were now standing next to one another, and the two boys looked beyond pissed. I'm sure they were thinking that they should go and find Conner and beat the shit out of him.

We all stayed like that for a while, but then the doctor came over. "You can see Nathan now, but only one at a time."

"Thank you," Karen said. She turned to Lucas, "you should go first."

Lucas stared at her for a moment, but then turned to me. I nodded once and lightly, only he would see it. He then headed to the room Nathan was staying in.

He was in there for a good twenty minutes, but no one said anything. We all just waited in silence, praying that our friend was going to be okay. Lucas finally came into view, even more depressed looking than before. Brooke stood up and wrapped her arms around his waist.

"It's pretty bad," he said, "brace yourselves." His eyes flickered to mine. I looked down at my lap.

Jake went next, but he was in there for only ten minutes. He came out with the same expression as Lucas, and Peyton did the same thing for him. Skillz went in next, and Bevin comforted him when he reappeared. Watching them only brought even more sadness, seeing as how when I go in there the arms I want wrapped around me when I come out are the arms that are lying in that bed. The idea brought on a round of tears, but I was able to hold them in.

Karen was after Skillz. Seeing her so worried and scared for Nathan made me feel a slight bit better. For the past couple of weeks, Nathan has been spending a lot of time at the Roe house. And the motherly side of her has taken over her, as he lies in the bed unmoving. I'm sure she knew all about Nathan's absent mother.

She was in there almost as long as Lucas, tears staining her cheeks as she walked out. She half hugged Lucas, then dabbed her eyes. She looked up at us, "whose next?"

"I'll go," Peyton said. She stepped away from Jake and headed towards the room. She was in there for about ten minutes also, then Bevin went although not as long, and then it was Brooke. She looked at me for a second, then walked away. She was in there for about fifteen minutes. I'm sure her and Nathan had gotten along since I'm sure she was around the house when Nathan and Lucas were hanging out.

She came back out and went to Lucas, putting her head on his shoulder. "Your turn Haley," Peyton told me softly from next to me. I nodded, and stood up. Jake, Brooke, and Lucas were all staring at me. Even Karen was watching me. I closed my eyes when I reached the door, turned back to my friends and saw that only Lucas was staring at me still. He gave me an encouraging smile, which I returned. I took a deep breath then turned the handle and walked inside.

The sight alone made the tears flow from my eyes. Lucas wasn't kidding, it was bad. Worse even. Nathan was laying on the bed, his head wrapped in white gauge, his right leg was hanging in a slack, and he was wearing what seemed to be a back brace around his torso. I had to place my hand over my mouth to keep the sobs from escaping. Cuts and bruises were all over his beautiful face, how could he do this? Conner should have never done this, he should have come after me. Not Nathan! Hate swept through my body when thinking about Conner. Lucas should have done more to him than just punching him, he deserves so much worse.

I walked slowly over to the side of the bed, and sat down in the chair. The room was silent except for the beeping of the machine that was keeping track of Nathan's heart. He had IV's taped on his hands. I leaned forward on the bed, placing my elbows on it, and grabbed his hand in mine.

"Hi," I choked out through the tears. "I am so sorry, Nathan. You have no idea how sorry I am, this should have never happened! You don't deserve this, any of this." I paused, "but you need to wake up, okay? You need to wake up, because there are a bunch of people outside that need you to be okay. Lucas is a wreck, he is so scared that you won't be okay. But we both know that you will right?" I started sobbing, and brought his hand up to my forehead. "Nathan, please wake up," I whispered. "I know I have asked so much for you in the past year, keeping us a secret, leaving Conner alone, but you have to wake up, I need you to wake up." I brought the hand down to my lips, and kissed it. "I love you Nathan. I know that I told you I love Conner, but that was just to keep you away. Why I wanted you to stay away, I have no idea. But it was stupid, and I need you so much. I thought Conner was the one for me, but he's not Nathan, you are and I want to be with you. I love you, Nathan." I took a second, "I know this is sort of a bad time to tell you, but better late than never right?" I let out a small laugh, a sarcastic laugh. I kissed his hand again, "wake up Nathan. Lucas loves you, Jake, Skillz, Karen, Brooke. They all need you, and so do I. You have to get through this, for me, for us." I closed my eyes, the tears still falling, and kissed his hand once more. I left it there for some time, crying and kissing him. Praying that he will wake up. I don't know how long I sat there, like that. But I realized that I should go, the doctors probably want to run some more tests. I kissed his hand again, then stood up.

I walked to the door, stopped to wipe away the tears. I closed my eyes, and took a deep breathe. Just like I had when I first walked in here. I had to go and tell them, Peyton, Skillz, and Bevin. I wanted to stop lying, I was tired of it. I reached for the handle,

"Hmm..." I spun around at the sound. Nathan's head moved to one side, then to the other. I could see that his eyes were fluttering open.

I tried to breathe, but it caught in my throat. I ran back to his side, "Nathan?" I asked softly, leaning over him. "Nathan, can you here me?"

"Hmm," he moaned out. His eyes were opening softly, and let out a gasp. The sound made him turn his head to me, his eyes focusing on me.

I placed my hand next to his head on the pillow, my other resting right next to his on the bed. "Nathan? Can you hear me?"

He opened his mouth, "Hal... Haley?"

I smiled, "yeah, it's me. I'm right here." I was breathing hard now, my chest rising up and down fast.

"What..." his voice was hoarse, "what happened?"

"Don't worry about that now. All that matters is that you're going to be okay!" I smiled at him again, tears of joy were falling now. "I have to go get the doctor..." I was about to walk away when he grabbed my wrist. I turned back to him, "what's wrong?"

He was silent for a couple seconds, just staring at me. His ocean blue eyes on me brought a blush to my face, like it always did. "Did you mean it?" His voice was low and husky.

I shook my head in confusion, "mean what?"

"What you said, about loving me?"

I opened my mouth, but no words came out. I was stunned. "You..." I was whispering, "you heard me?"

He smirked, "every word. Did you mean it?"

Of course I meant it! I wanted to scream at him, but the door opened and a nurse came in looking at her clipboard. She looked up and saw me, "oh, I'm sorry I didn't realize..." then she looked at Nathan who was now staring at her. Actually, he seemed to be glaring at her for walking in on us. "You're awake! Wonderful! Let me get the doctor!" She turned around and walked out.

"I should go, the doctor will want to look at you." I stepped out of his grasp, a burning sensation lingered where his fingers were. Before I got half way to the door, the doctor came in.

"Nathan! You're up, how are you feeling?"

I turned around to give him one last look, his eyes were still on me. "Confused." He was answering the doctor, but his eyes never left mine.

I smiled at him, and took this opportunity to answer his question while the doctor was talking to the nurse. I smirked at him, "you bet your ass I meant it."

He smiled at me, and I beamed right back. I ducked my head, and walked out of the room. Everyone stood up when they saw me, panic expressions on their faces, I assume they saw the nurse rushing to get the doctor. I made my way to my friends, my head still low, the smile still on my face.

"Haley?" It was Lucas's voice, and that made me smile even more.

I looked up at them, seeing my smile must have made them relax some. "He's going to be okay. He woke up, and I don't think there is anything wrong with his head. He's going to be okay," my voice broke on the last part. Happy tears escaping.

Everyone let out a breathe of relief and smiled at one another. Lucas was still looking at me, his eyes shining with tears. We smiled at one another, and then he crushed my body into his. Our arms wrapping around each other. I felt his head turn towards my ear, "thank you."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Wait a minute! You have been sneaking around with him for the past nine months, and you didn't even think to tell me!" Peyton demanded. We were all sitting on Lucas's porch, a couple days after Nathan had woken up. He was going to be just fine. It would take awhile to heal, but he would be perfect soon. I had told everyone that I wanted them to come over today, for I wanted to tell them everything.

"I didn't tell anyone P. Sawyer, not till a month ago. I needed help and I called Jake," I told her. I smiled at Jake, a grateful smile. He smiled back. "I know this is crazy, but it just happened and I fell in love with him."

The group smiled at that, and I smiled too. I couldn't wait till Nathan got out of the hospital.

"So are you excited to play Nurse, James?" Brooke asked, a knowing smile on her lips. Sometimes, I think she can read minds.

"Maybe, just a little," I told her.

She laughed. Lucas shook his head, "I so don't need that visual. Besides the only way you are going to be able to take care of him is when mom isn't, which will be like never."

Karen had stuck to her word, she was getting full guardianship of Nathan. And he couldn't be more grateful. He told me that he was really happy that Karen was going to take him in, especially when he was in a shape like he is. Lucas is moving to the couch and Nathan is going to stay in his room, until Karen cleans out the spare room for him to move into.

"So..." Skillz started, "what do you think they are going to do to Conner?"

It was a sore subject, but Lucas answered him. "Well when he called the police and told him that he was the one who beat Nathan us, he was arrested for assault. And since he's eighteen, he's an adult and they are putting him in jail for three months."

Skillz nodded, silence falling between us. We turned our heads when a car pulled up and parked in front of the sidewalk that would lead to Lucas's porch. It was Karen. She got out the driver's side and waved up at us, "hey kids! Look whose home!"

I watched as she walked to the other side of the car, and opened the back door. Nathan was sitting in the seat. A smile came to my face. Lucas jumped up, and ran down the porch steps and to the car.

"Lucas help him out will you?" Karen opened the trunk and pulled out the wheel chair. We all stood on the porch watching, not wanting to get in the way. Jake had opened the door and Skillz walked down to go and help Lucas get Nathan out of the car. They grabbed him on both side and helped him into the wheelchair.

"Welcome home bro," Lucas said from behind him, and started pushing him forward. I noticed Nathan was wearing a boot over his jeans, but his face had cleared up in the past couple days. When they reached the steps, Lucas and Skillz picked up the wheelchair and walked up the steps.

"Geez Nate, you think you could cut back on the sweets a little?" Skillz joked, making everyone laugh.

Nathan smiled, "you're funny."

We all watched as they set him down and walked into the house. We all followed in behind, me last.

Karen started to walk towards the kitchen, "I'm going to make some lunch, then I have to head to the cafe."

"Okay!" We all responded. We walked to the family room, just planning to rest. Lucas and Jake helped Nathan up on the couch, and they placed his leg on the coffee table with a pillow under it.

"You alright?" Lucas asked, stepping away to make sure he wasn't in any pain.

He smiled, "yeah, thanks." He then turned to me, "come here."

I smiled at him, and walked over to him. I sat down pretty close to him, not wanting to hurt him. He wrapped his arm around my shoulders and brought me against his side.

"I'm not hurting you," I asked looking up at him.

He smirked, "I'm hurt at the fact that you haven't kissed me yet."

I smiled at him, leaned up and gave him a soft kiss. He tried to keep me there, but his current weakness wouldn't allow it. I pulled away, a smile on my face, and rested my head against his shoulder. I saw that everyone had taken a seat already, and Lucas was turning on the TV.

"What do you guys want to watch?" He asked, scanning the channels.

"We are not watching basketball," Brooke said from his side.

"Aw come on," Jake pleaded.

"We should watch The Notebook," Bevin said.

"Hell no!" All the guys responded.

We all laughed, "language!" Karen scolded from the kitchen, making us laugh even more.

"Oh, Lost is on," Lucas said. He turned towards us, "want to?"

"Sure," we all responded. Lost was the show was all loved.

He clicked enter, and image of Sawyer shirtless came onto the screen. "God Josh Holloway is so hot," Brooke commented.

"Yeah he is," I said. I squealed when Nathan poked me softly in the side. I looked up at him, but he was watching the screen like nothing had happened. I rolled my eyes at his childness and returned to the TV. I snuggled in closer to Nathan's side, making sure I didn't hurt him in the process. God, how I missed his arms around me like this. I missed his arms period.

Throughout the rest of the show, Nathan rubbed his hand up and down my arm, giving me goosebumps. He also would press his lips to my head every once in awhile, making me try to move even closer to him. We stayed like the rest of the afternoon, hanging out and watching Lost with our friends.

I was the happiest I had been in a long time.

_Can't you see? _

_There's a feeling that's come over me _

_Close my eyes _

_You're the only one that leaves me completely breathless_

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**And there's chapter 19. Not sure if I liked it, but it was the best I could do. Next chapter is the end, and it will be out soon!**

**Song at the end is You Set Me Free by Michelle Branch. Great song!**

**And here's the summary to my new story, which I am so excited about! It's different, big time! lol!**

**Fall For You-**

**Haley James is the most wanted person in America. Agent Nathan Scott has been after her for years now, after she killed his parter and best friend. Now, after years of chasing, she's been caught and sentenced to death. But it seems like Haley James isn't the biggest threat to the world. A new organization is building, and they are planning a mask destruction. The CIA is going to try everything they can to stop it, but they will soon find out that the only person that can help them is the one that they just put on death row. What happens when two enemies must come together, and try to save mankind?**


	20. A Future To Look Forward Too

**2 Months Later...**

"Haley!" Brooke whined.

I rolled my eyes, "Brooke, no!"

She stuck out her bottom lip, "please?"

"No," I said more firmly.

"But we need a house, and what better house than a house that no parents will be at?" She defended.

"We are not throwing a party at my house, after the game." I looked at Peyton who was sitting on the other side of the table, "a little help?"

She just shrugged, "sorry Haley, but we need a house."

I glared at her, "thanks for the help."

Brooke was beaming, "yeah, thanks P. Sawyer. So what do you say, Haley?"

"What I've been saying for the last twenty minutes, no!"

Brooke narrowed her eyes at me, "you know I don't need your permission to throw a party. Just a couple words to the cheerleading team and the whole school will know in an hour, and then there's no way to stop it." She was smiling wickedly now.

"Brooke," Peyton scolded, "that's a little harsh don't you think?"

Brooke ignored her, she kept her eyes on me. "What if we lose? Huh? Did you ever think about that?"

"Haley! Since when do we have to win to throw a party? Even if they do lose, it will be the championship game, and the whole entire town is going to have to get wasted to deal with it."

Peyton nodded, "that's true."

I looked back and forth between them, feeling myself giving in. Elizabeth wasn't going to be here this weekend, it was game week which means that there has to be a party, and I was the prime host this time. Wonderful.

"Besides, wouldn't you rather have sex with your boyfriend in your own room then in someone else's after he wins the state championship?" Brooke asked with her eyebrow quirked up.

"We don't even know if he is going to be able to play in the game," I reminded her. It has been two months since Nathan was released, and he has healed incredibly well and fast. His broken leg was completely healed and he could run on it with no pain.

"Hey ladies," a voice said from behind me.

"Hey boys," Brooke said, smiling at Lucas. Him and Jake sat next to their girlfriends, and I waited for the seat next to me to be taken but it never did. I frowned. "Where were you?"

"Whitey wanted to go over some plays," Jake answered, stealing a carrot from Peyton.

I looked around then turned to Lucas, "where's Nathan?"

"He's doing the trainer's test right now, to see if he's ready to play." I could tell Lucas was nervous, hell I was nervous. Nathan has been a little grouchy at the fact that Whitey won't let him practice very much.

"I'm sure he'll be able to play," Peyton said, "he's looked great at the river court."

"Yeah, but this is Whitey. Any sign of pain or anything, he'll be on the bench," Jake said.

I sighed, and looked around the courtyard. It's taken a while, but most people are used to Nathan and I now. In fact, some girls have even come up and told me that we were cutter than Conner and I. Or that it's so romantic that the bad boy fell in love with the good girl. How cliche can you get?

I noticed Rachel sitting with some of her 'new' friends. I confronted her a week after Nathan got home, and she admitted to telling Conner about Nathan and I. I then told Brooke who took immediate action, she kicked her off the squad. I told her she didn't have to do that, but Brooke would take any excuse to throw her out. I still catch her staring and me and Nathan sometimes, it's a little creepy.

"So Haley," I turned to Brooke, "are we throwing a party at Casa de James?" She was pleading with her eyes, and I couldn't say no. It would be fun.

"Sure."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

_Hey pretty baby with the_

_High heels on_

_You give me fever_

_Like Ive never, ever known_

_Youre just a product of_

_Loveliness_

"Stop! Stop!" Brooke commanded. The music stopped, and so did all of us. "What the hell was that?"

Peyton and I shared a look, "um, the routine?"

"No, that was crap on legs. What have I been teaching all of you for the past two months?"

Peyton rolled her eyes, "what was wrong with it Brooke?"

She threw her hands in the air, "everything! You all looked like you had no idea what you were doing, except for Haley and Peyton. Oh and Bevin even knew what was going on." Bevin smiled. "You three come here," Brooke motioned us with her finger.

"Brooke, what are you doing?" I asked as I stepped next to her. We all faced the rest of the squad.

"You are going to show them what they are supposed to do, being on since they don't listen to me maybe they will learn from you." She walked over to the boom box, "on three." Bevin, Peyton and I lined up like we were supposed to. Myself in the very front with Bevin and Peyton behind me on both sides. "One, two, three!"

_The way you make me feel_

_(the way you make me feel)_

_You really turn me on_

_(you really turn me on)_

_You knock me off of my feet_

_(you knock me off of_

_My feet)_

_My lonely days are gone_

_(my lonely days are gone)_

"Bow wow!"

"Yeah!"

"Woohoo!"

The music stopped, and we turned around to see the basketball team standing around the door. All with smirks on their faces. I rolled my eyes at their pigheadedness. My eyes moved to Brooke who was now standing in front of us, hands on her hips, looking at the boys.

"Excuse me, we were doing something. Do you mind?"

"Not at all," one of the players said, leaning back checking Brooke up and down. It didn't help with the fact that she, as with all of us, were wearing sports bra's and rolled up sofies. Lucas elbowed his teammate, a smile on his face.

"Yes, please, don't let us interrupt," another guy said.

The door slammed shut behind the boys, the sound echoing off the walls, and Whitey surveyed the scene in front of him. "What the hell is going on here?" He bellowed.

The team scurried off, all murmuring 'nothing', and went to go shoot around. All but one. I watched Nathan turn to Whitey, and it looked like he was asking something. I noticed Lucas tapping his ankle on the stands.

"Hey Luke," I greeted as I sat down next to him.

"Hey Hales, what's up?" He had finished taping his ankle, and looked at me.

"Do you know of Nathan passed the trainer's test?"

He looked over at him, still talking to Whitey, then back to me. "Nope, Whitey told him he would give him the verdict at practice. I guess that's what he's doing right now." We both looked over at the two, both showing no sign of anything. Then Nathan nodded, Whitey patted him on the back, and Nathan started walking over to us.

"Roe!" Lucas looked at his coach, "get your butt out here. NOW!" Lucas looked back at Nathan, then sprang up and jogged to his teammates.

I looked over at the rest of the squad, thankful that Brooke was too worried about the rest of the girls not knowing the dance, to notice I was not there. I stood up when Nathan reached me, still no sign of anything on his face. "Nathan?" I had to duck my head a little, since his was bowed slightly.

He looked up, a smirk playing on his lips. "I start tomorrow night," he told me.

My eyes grew wide, and smile broke through. I squealed and jump into his arms. He laughed and spun me around, my feet curling up in excitement. I hugged him as hard as I could.

A couple seconds later he set me back down, his face now glowing. "I am so happy for you," I said to him.

"I didn't think he was going to let me play, at the trainer's thing I didn't play very well. But he said that I looked good and he wants me to start tomorrow."

My smile grew, if that was possible. I stepped into him, craning my neck to kiss him, my hands finding his. Our lips met, and they lingered there for a couple seconds, Nathan was in mid step, about to come even closer to me when Whitey's whistle filled the gym.

"Scott! If you don't get your hands off that girl in two seconds, I'll make sure you never play ball again!"

Nathan jumped away from me, and I let out a laugh. He winked at me before turning back and walking to his team. Him and Lucas bumped fist.

"Haley!" I looked over at a now livid Brooke, "get over here now!"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

_Risin' up, back on the street _

_Did my time, took my chances _

_Went the distance, now I'm back on my feet _

_Just a man and his will to survive _

The place was going absolutely crazy! It was the wildest they had ever been, and everyone was having the time of their lives. We were here, the State Championship. Tree Hill has waited so long for it, and now it was finally here. The only think standing in our way; Charlotte Pirates High School.

"Let's go Ravens!" I heard Brooke yell from next to me. "Is this crazy or what?" She said to me, "let's go!"

I smiled then joined in her cheering, the crowd seemed to get even that much louder. I waved the pom-poms around, screaming at the top of my lungs. It didn't matter, not even Brooke could hear me.

"Ladies and gentleman," somehow the place seemed to quite in an instant. "Welcome to the North Carolina High School Basketball Championship!" The crowd cheered. "We have two great, unbelievably talented teams with us today. Starting for the Charlotte Pirates..."

The other team's cheerleaders had lined up against the doors of the locker room, and the Pirate's came running out, their starter's waiting for their names to be called. The team's fans cheered as names were called and players ran out, slapping one another's hand.

"Now, give it up for the Tree Hill Ravens!" The gym exploded with cheers and applause. We waved our pom-poms in the air, holding them over the players heads so they could run under us. "Staring for the Ravens, at point guard Jake Jagielski! At Center, Skillz Taylor! Shooting Guard, Lucas Roe! At power forward, Kevin Jennings! And at small forward, Nathan Scott!"

Both teams were now on their side of the courts, shooting around. We walked back to the side of the gym, where we would cheer during the game. I watched Nathan warm-up, and he looked good. Not because there was sweat starting to form on his face, or that he was wearing the black raven blue uniform which made his eyes really stand out. He looked good health wise, I just hope he stays like it in the game and he doesn't get hurt.

"So Haley," Courtney started, coming to stand in front of me. "When should we be at your house tonight?" She was bouncing with excitement. Too bad I couldn't mirror it.

"Um..." I shot a glare at Brooke, but she was too busy looking at Lucas, "around ten?" I had no idea, nor did I care when people were going to come over and completely wreck my house.

"Great!" She skipped off to her spot. No doubt that would get around before the game was over.

The buzzer filled the gym, and all the fans stood up and clapped as the teams went to the bench to get the final instructions from their coach.

Brooke nudged me, "you nervous?"

"Just a bit, but I can't image what Nathan is going through. His first game and it's the championship? Pressure much?"

She snorted, "big time pressure. But he'll do great."

I nodded, trying to convince myself. "I hope."

But there was no need to hope, because Nathan was in the zone. It was just before half time, and the Ravens were only up by five points but they were playing great. Nathan and Lucas seemed to be able to read one another's mind, they were so in synch. It was pretty amazing to watch. And Nathan showed no sign that he had just been in the hospital with a broken leg. No he looked like a star. My star.

The first half finished, and we did our half time routine. Which defiantly pumped up the crown even more. They were bound to blow off the roof by the end of this game. If got worse when the third quarter started.

The third quarter whizzed by and the Pirates had cut the deficit to only two points now. The gym was shaking as Nathan caught the ball Lucas had passed him, and went for a three pointer. It made no noise as it sailed through the net. I jumped up and down, along with everyone else. It was getting crazy, and physical. The game had to be stopped twice because some of the players got into a little brawl. One involving Skillz and the other Nathan. But the officials were able to break it up before any damage was caused.

I looked up at the clock, only twenty minutes left and the Raven's were up by three. "Let's go Ravens!" I called out. I watched as the ball was stolen away from Lucas and the Pirate's had a break away, scoring two points. The Raven fans groaned, feeling the victory slipping through their fingers.

Jake inbounded the ball to Lucas, just barely making it at four seconds. The other team was doing full court press, hoping to steal the ball away. Lucas held onto it though, trying to protect it. He had to get it over the half court line in six seconds or they would be forced to give the ball away. He was moving the ball all around, trying to find someone.

Suddenly Nathan broke away from his man, and sprinted across the court onto the other teams side. Lucas saw it immediately and hurled it to him. Nathan had to jump about three feet in the air to catch it. But he did. And the fans went wild. Now we just had to hold onto it for ten more seconds and that would be it. The Raven's made their way to other side, the other team not really in a hurry. They knew it was over.

"Eight..seven...six!" The crowd started chanting. All watching the clock, as the Raven's just passed the ball around.

"Three! Two! One!" The buzzer sounded and that was it. I watched as Nathan threw the ball high up in the air,and his teammates all jumped on him.

It was over.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The clock rang 10:30 and the party was in full swing by now. People were everywhere, cramped together with little space between them. And they just seemed to keep on showing up. Brooke had asked one of her friends to DJ the party, so music was blasting off the walls and ringing in my ears. People brought kegs, lots of them. It was a crazy, wild, totally out of hand party. But I was enjoying every minute. I'm sure it was just the fact that it only about two hours ago we just won the state championship, that I was actually having fun at a party. But it would have been a lot better if Nathan was here.

After I had run to him and kissed him for a good ten minutes, we celebrated with all the other people who were on the court. After about thirty minutes of just hugging and rejoicing in the win, the players went to go take a shower. Nathan told me that he was going to ride with Lucas, so I could go home and 'get ready' for the party. All I had to was change. Everyone else brought everything.

So I was now sitting on my couch, with Brooke and Peyton, being desperate girlfriends and waiting for our men to arrive. I had changed out of my uniform and put on my favorite low rise bell jeans and a simple optic white solid knit cami.

"Well girlies, we did it," Brooke said from next to me. I was stuck in the middle of her and Peyton.

I looked at her, "did what?"

"Finished high school," she answered with a 'duh' voice.

Peyton and I shared a look. "Um... Brookie... it's only January though," I reminded her.

"I know that," she rolled her eyes, 'but I mean we finished our school year with a championship. We're like done now."

Peyton and I were still confused. "But we still have six more months left of school."

Brooke turned her head sharply to us, "don't ruin this for me."

Peyton and I leaned away from her slightly, apparently only Brooke knew what she was talking about.

A big uproar came from the foyer, and everyone was clapping and cheering. A couple seconds later, Nathan, Jake and Lucas appeared in the doorway. Everyone was clapping them on the back and trying to talk to them. I met Nathan's eyes, and he nudged the other two and pointed in the direction of us.

They made their way over, and stood in front of us. "Where," Brooke started, "have you been?"

"We went to the cafe for a little," Lucas answered. "We met mom there, and just sort of calmed down."

Peyton stood up and wrapped her arms around Jake's waist. "Well you deserve it, you guys were great tonight."

Brooke replicated Peyton and gave Lucas a peck, "you really were."

I looked at Nathan, who gave me a small smirk. "What?"

He shook his head, and then plopped down next to me. He draped an arm over me, bringing me closer to his body. "Nothing, you're just cute."

I laughed, "okay." I looked down at our side, trying to hide the blush. He lifted my chin, with his hand softly, to make me look at him. We stared at one another for a couple seconds, till I couldn't take it anymore. "What are you looking at?" I leaned away, and brought my hand to my teeth. "Do I have something in my teeth?"

He laughed, "yeah."

I was horrified, why didn't Brooke or Peyton tell me. "Oh my god! What is it?"

He wrapped an arm around my waist, bringing me closer to him again. He swiped away the hair that was resting against my shoulder and whispered, "this."

After all the time's we kissed, I still felt light headed when we did. Everything went away and it was just us two. Even though the kiss was light and sensual. Nathan brought up his free hand and cupped my cheek, smoothly running his thumb against it. He bit my lip a little, grabbing it with his teeth playfully. I was just about to move closer to him when Brooke yanked me away from him, pulling me off the couch completely.

"It's our song!"

I rolled my eyes, how many songs to we have? But then when I realized what song it really was, I couldn't help but jump up and down with her and Brooke. Everyone seemed to have realized what was going on as they all moved to the walls, and made room for us. Lucas and Jake had now joined Nathan on the couch, getting front row seats.

The three of us started dancing like mad woman, waiting for the lyrics to start.

_(I'm gonna getcha)_

_I'm gonna getcha while I gotcha in sight_

_(I'm gonna getcha)_

_I'm gonna getcha if it takes all night_

_(Yeah, you can betcha)_

_You can betcha by the time I say "go," you'll never say "no"_

_(I'm gonna getcha)_

_I'm gonna getcha, it's a matter of fact_

_(I'm gonna getcha)_

_I'm gonna getcha, don'tcha worry 'bout that_

_(Yeah, you can betcha)_

_You can bet your bottom dollar, in time you're gonna be mine_

_Just like I should - I'll getcha good_

Everyone was clapping along, the girls were all singing the words with us. The boys had amused looks on their faces, they knew we were crazy. Bevin soon joined us after the second verse. We sounded horrible, and maybe even a little drunk. But no one cared, they were having a blast.

_Yeah, I'm gonna getcha baby I'm gonna knock on wood_

_I'm gonna getcha somehow honey yeah, I'm gonna make it good_

_Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah_

The song finished, and everyone was cheering and laughing. We told the boys that we were going to go and get some water. We walked to the kitchen, and stayed there for about ten minutes. Brooke and Peyton left to go to the bathroom, and Bevin left to go and find Skillz. I made my way through the kitchen and out into the foyer, where only a couple people stood.

Someone grabbed my wrist, pulling me back against the wall. I smiled when I saw my favorite raven haired 'bad boy'.

"Hi," I said as he pressed me against the well, and placing his hands on both sides of my face. I was trapped, and I so liked it.

"So I was thinking," his voice was low and deep, "that since your mom isn't going to be home this entire weekend you might need a bodyguard."

"Bodyguard?" He nodded, "but I already have Tar-heel, why would I need you?" I was teasing him of course.

He raised his eye brows, "why would not need me James?"

I laughed, "surely I could live without you."

He knew I was lying. In fact, I haven't spent one day without seeing him. He ducked his head to my ear, his breath sending shivers up and down my spine. "I highly," he paused, "doubt that."

I smiled, and kissed him. His hands dropped down to my waist, bringing me closer to him. His tongue traced my lower lip, asking for entrance. Didn't he know by now that he didn't have to ask? I opened my mouth a little wider, and his tongue flew in. I wrapped my arms around his neck, trying to bring him even closer. Nathan was playing with the small piece of skin on my back, making bumps form under it.

I let out a small moan and immediately pushed him away, much to his annoyance. "What?" he demanded.

"Not here," I told him. He rolled his eyes playfully and I grabbed his hand and we walked back to the couch. I saw Brooke and Lucas were sitting on the chair, and Jake was leaning against the couch that was across from it with Peyton in between his legs.

Nathan and I sat down next to Jake and Peyton, Nathan bringing up his knees and I sat down in between them. I leaned back onto him, and we laced our fingers together. The six of us stayed like that for the rest of the party.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"I get Hales," Lucas pointed at me.

It was four o'clock in the morning. Everyone at the party had left except for us six and Skillz and Bevin. Knowing none of us were going to be able to sleep, we decided to go to the river court to hang out. When we got there, Peyton suggested a game of four vs. four.

I smiled at Lucas gratefully, I knew he would be the only one to 'pick' me. Have I mentioned how much I suck at this sport?

"Fine," Nathan said, "I get Brooke."

Oh Nathan was playing dirty now. Brooke and I glared at one another as she made hr way to Nathan's side. We both burst out laughing.

The teams turned out to be Lucas, Skillz, Peyton and I and Nathan, Jake, Brooke and Bevin.

Tar-heel barked from the bench where he was tied up. Nathan looked over at him, "I get Tar-heel."

Lucas looked at him like he was crazy, "are you serious?"

"Sure!" Nathan ran over to the dog, who was wagging his tail upon seeing him. I swear, they were best friends. I think Tar-heel loved Nathan more than me. He let him off the leash and ran back next to him. We were all laughing. "What? He's gonna be the next Air Bud!" Tar-heel barked.

"Come on!" Lucas said, dribbling the ball to half court. We all got on our respective sides, waiting for Jake to throw the ball up in the air. I looked over at Tar-heel, who had cutely positioned himself between Brooke and Bevin, just waiting for the ball.

To think, I started the school year off only a couple months ago with a completely different world. Conner and I were together, Elizabeth was a bitch, and I didn't even have Tar-heel.

Well now Conner was in jail for another month, then is being sent off to military school by his father. Elizabeth, who had been appalled with the idea of me and Nathan being together, had loosened up a bit and was actually normal. Yes it was going to take a lot of getting used to, but I was tired of being mad at her and blaming everything on her. She's even had a boyfriend for the past two months, and crazy enough I like him. And to add to all the rocks that I have in my life right now, Tar-heel defiantly is on the top. In so many ways, he reminds me of my dad. I don't know why, but I guess it's the fact that he's always happy, and when I ever have to rant about something, he always listens. For once in my life, I was finally, truly, and completely happy with every aspect of my life.

I looked at every single face on the court, telling myself how much each of them means to me. I don't know what I would do without my two best girlfriends. They have always been there, and even though we've had some rough points, we'll always be there for one another. We were completely different from one another, but that didn't matter.

Bevin and Skillz. Just their names brought so much love to my heart. They were everything to me. Their presence alone, just seemed to wipe away all the darkness that is in this world. And I couldn't be more grateful to them, and what they have done for me.

Jake and Luke. There are seriously no words to what I feel for them. Lucas, my best friend since forever, has helped me through everything in my life. Him and Jake were there for me when my dad died, and if they hadn't been, I probably would have lost it. I had trusted Jake with the secret of me and Nathan. And the most amazing thing, he didn't tell anyone. Just like I asked him too. Really, he was the one who made me see the light. The light that was Nathan.

Finally I looked at him. I almost burst into tears just thinking about how these past two months have been the best ever, but this past year with him as been at out of this world. Yes, I had lied to everyone. I had cheated on my boyfriend. If I could I would go back and change a few things, but I can't and I'm happy with that. Conner will always be the elephant in the room with him and I, but we knew that was has happened, happened. And as long as we were together, everything was going to be okay. Nathan had finally made it in the world. He finally got over his father, made a family with Lucas and Karen, and made friends with the people around him now. To say there was something different about Nathan, would be an understatement. He was just so happy now, and I loved how his eyes seemed to glow now.

I know that is still a tough road ahead, but as long as I have my friends, my best friends, and the love of my life, I was going to be okay. Hell, we just went through a nightmare two months ago, we can survive anything. I have people in my life I know I will cherish forever, for they have given me something I didn't know I could have after dad died.

They gave me a future to look forward too.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**There you have it! Won't You Be My Bad Boy is officially complete! Oh man! This brings tears to my eyes! Excuse me while I blow my nose!... Back! So I hope you all enjoyed it! I thought I would have a happy, drama-free, ending for this very crazy fic! Hope I didn't disappoint!**

**Now I want to thank everyone who has kept with this story, and has reviewed! You all make my day and I love you all! Seriously, you are the reason why I continue with my stories. I'm grateful to you all!**

**Songs:**

**The Way You Make Me Feel- Michael Jackson**

**Eye of the Tiger- Survivor**

**Getcha Good- Shania Twain**

**Fall For You Update:**

**As you know form last chapter I am starting a new story! Very exciting! But it is going to be a lot of crime and political stuff, that I'm not to educated on. I am looking for a beta reader for this one, not only to make it better grammatically wise, but also to help me with all the crime stuff. **

**So if you are beta qualified and want to help a girl out, just PM me and we'll go from there! I'm not totally positive if I am going to use a beta, but it would be really awesome to have some options!**

**Okay that's it! Good-bye all and I will see you soon with my new story! Again, thank you all so much for reading!**

**xoxo**

**Katie!**


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